Shades of gray
by Belladonna-Isabella
Summary: It is not our destiny that decides our lives, it is our choices. There is no black and white...only shades of gray. ItaxOC.R
1. Calm before the storm

**_Don't own anything but my OC,don't sue me plz._**

**_A/N: English is not my first language. It is the first time I write a Naruto fanfic and only my second fanfiction in general. I need a lot of encouragement so please leave a nice review and any ideas you may have. This idea has been in my mind from some time now and there is a tiny influence from Basilisk in it. There will be spoilers at least until the chapter 370 of the manga. Enjoy!_**

**Has been Beta-ed by Manic 8-ball!**

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**oOo**

**_Rain falling hard_**

**_Rain falling hard..._**

**_Silence of the night..._**

**_Blood..._**

**_The dead eyes of her father..._**

**_His face a mask of concern, surprise and pain..._**

**_A fire burning...consuming the house..._**

**_Screams...screams of people trying to flee the inferno..._**

Ame woke up covered with sweat, the nightmare was always fragmented, images that flashed incoherently in her mind, but it was unaltered...always the same images.

No matter how many years had passed the dream remained the same, a memory of something that was carved in her soul...

She got up from her bed and made her way to the window of her small apartment. She opened the curtains and found herself gazing at a sea of houses, her eyes wandered across the roofs that were barely touched by the rays of the morning sun. The moon hadn't yet left the sky and the village was still sleeping peacefully. Then she turned her attention to the background, to the statues of the Hokages.

_**They are all dead now**._

Seven years...that is how long she had been in this village and that is how long she had viewed the, now deceased, Hokage as her father. She certainly wasn't the only one that viewed him as a father figure, after all the Hokage is the one who cares and protects the people of Konoha and Sarutobi was certainly as great as his predecessors, he fought to the death to stop his own student from harming this village.

A tear left her eye and slid on her cheek.

_**Sarutobi-sensei...**_

After her family's murder Ame had fled her home in a state of shock and after wandering aimlessly she had collapsed on a road. A couple, that were merchants from Konoha, found her and brought her with them to their home. Her clothes were covered in blood and when she regained consciousness it was made clear that she suffered from partial amnesia, the only thing she could tell them was that her family was dead. The Tsurugis were good people that had not been blessed with children so they saw this situation as an opportunity to help the poor girl and to experience the joy of a complete family, so they took her in.

Her adoption into the Tsurugi family made her citizenship in Konoha official, and allowed her to join the ranks of the ninja.

Now, at the age of 17 she had bloomed into a beautiful woman with fine features, long fiery hair and silver eyes and had gained the attention of most of the men in the village. As far as her ninja skills went, however, she couldn't be more unexceptional. Mainly assigned to diplomatic relations with other countries, mission assignments and paperwork because of her intelligence and diplomatic skills, she held the rank of chuunin but didn't excel in any type of ninjutsu.

A few days ago she had returned from a mission only to discover that Orochimaru had, with Sand's help, managed an attack during the chuunin exams and even though they were driven away they managed a big blow to Konoha by killing the Hokage. It had been a big blow to Ame and she couldn't help but wonder if her being here would have changed anything. She felt regret but more than anything she felt obligated to help in the reconstruction and re-stabilization of the village -she owed Sarutobi-sensei that much at least.

With that thought in mind she went to prepare. With no Hokage a lot had fallen not only to the council but also to her shoulders and to her colleagues' shoulders. The missions had to continue to preserve the village's reputation, but also provide income and there was a lot of paperwork to be done in order to allow the reconstruction to go on smoothly. Of course there was also the big issue of who would take Sarutobi's place, but that was a decision the council had to make and which, in Ame's opinion, was indeed very difficult.

Having put on her custom uniform and bound her hair in a pigtail, so as to not be in the way, she spared a smile to the photograph of her adopted parents that hung on the wall and set off towards the academy where she had to meet the newly appointed instructors (that were replacing those that died during the attack) and assign them to their classes. As she set foot out on the street however she felt a strange shudder run through her body. It was followed by an uneasy sensation that she couldn't shake off and even though she wasn't one to believe in premonitions or omens, she couldn't help but feel that something was about to happen once more...

**oOoTBCoOo**

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**A/N2:This is it! The very first chapter! I know it is kind of short but it is the introduction as I wanted it. Plz Plz Plz leave a review!!**

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	2. At the beginning

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs.**

**A/N:**Thanks to my reviewer **something541.**

**Beta read by ****Manic 8-ball**

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**oOo**

Unluckily, Ame's visit to the academy took her longer than anticipated, which was bad considering the amount of work that was sure to be waiting for her back at the office, which was were she was headed now. Around her people walked, ran, carried things, accidentally stumbled upon each other…

Under other circumstances it might have even been funny to observe the form of barely organized chaos that seemed to reign in Konoha following the attack and the situation didn't change much when one entered the Hokage building.

Only during a war, or to a lesser extent the chuunin exams, could so many people be seen running around on the verge of panic, carrying stacks of papers or things. Certainly everyone was doing their best, in every aspect and in every way, but the need for a leader was obvious to all.

"_**We can't fall apart as long as we can contribute to something," that is the thought that reigns in the mind of every citizen of this village. Well, in that case I have to do my part as well, don't I Sarutobi-sensei?**_

Ame winked at the carved face of the Third. A few minutes later she opened the door to the office she was sharing with Toma-kun and Rika-chan, two of her colleagues.

"Good morning," she said as she walked in and closed the door behind her.

Rika was going through some papers while Toma seemed to be searching for something in the library.

"Good morning Ame-san, did you just finish with the academy?" Toma questioned as he showered her with one of his very radiant smiles.

"Yes. Sorry, it took longer than I thought." Ame answered.

Rika only then noticed her, obviously distracted by the papers in front of her.

"Ah! Ame-san, you are here, sorry but I am swamped with logistics right now and can't move from here. Toma is helping me, or at least PRETENDS (she spared a glare at their male co-worker) to do so. And you know very well that we are short-staffed with all that has been going on, it only leaves you to go bring the reports from the gate.

_Poor Rika really seems desperate._

"Don't worry, of course I'll go, it isn't a problem," Ame said.

"Thank you Ame-chan, I know you just came in and all but…" said Rika, who seemed to relax a little.

"Don't thank me, it is part of my job and I can see how pressured you are at the moment. So, I'll go now and when I come back I will be sure to help you. Ok?" Ame reassured her with a smile.

"Ah ! Rika-san, you made another mistake here," Toma said (who had by now moved behind Rika and was examining her calculations).

"Oh no! I have to redo the last 3 pages again," Rika said, almost in tears.

"Now, now Rika-san, don't despair, Toma here will help you," Ame said looking at him sternly, "and I will soon be back to give you a hand."

All the response she got was a nod since Rika had once more plunged herself to work, so Ame just opened the door and walked out.

The fastest road to the gate was the one that ran parallel to the river and naturally, that was the one she took. Even though she knew she should hurry, she couldn't resist the urge to slowly walk along the river while casting very frequent glances at the running water. It was the element that fascinated her the most, with the exception of fire perhaps. Its feel on her skin, the sensation of being submerged in it…water symbolized for her the constant flow of time but it also reminded her other things—things of the past…

Her reverie, however, was interrupted as she noticed the presence of four people several feet a head of her. Two of them were apparently Konoha ninjas, whom she recognized, after a more careful glance, to be Asuma-san and Kurenai-san. They seemed to question the two others who wore black cloaks with red clouds and straw hats that hid their features completely.

Without knowing why, and most likely because of instinct and the fact that none of the four had noticed her, she jumped behind a tree and quickly but silently made her way towards them, under cover of trees and bushes.

As soon as she got close enough to be able to see and hear better, but was still at a relatively safe distance, she dared a careful glance and saw the one of the unidentified figures slowly remove the hat and unbutton a bit his cloak, revealing none other than…

_**Uchiha Itachi**_

Ame would have involuntarily blurted out his name if only her body hadn't frozen from complete and utter astonishment. She couldn't be sure that she was even breathing. Even her mind had gone numb as it seemed unable to record the fact that **he** was standing just a few feet away.

She was in such a state of shock that the disclosure of the other man's identity and the respective battles between Kurenai and Itachi, and Asuma and Kisame got no reaction from her.

But a hand, placed gently on her shoulder made her quickly recover her senses and as she turned to see who it was she found herself looking at the masked face of Hatake Kakashi. He said nothing but motioned her very clearly to keep quiet and stay where she was before hurrying to save Kurenai from Itachi.

From the spot she occupied she could see everything that went on and hear everything that was said. She saw the intruders fight almost effortlessly until Itachi used the sharingan and made Kakashi so weak that he couldn't stand. She heard every word that was said, and she too was surprised to hear that the two missing-nin were looking for "the Fourth Hokage's Legacy. They were apparently a part of an organization called "Akatsuki" that had directed them to look for the Fourth's Legacy, which Kakashi correctly interpreted as meaning Naruto.

However, when Itachi ordered Kisame to take out Kakashi, Ame decided she couldn't stay out of the fight anymore and jumped to face them. But, as it happened, the one who stopped the attack against Kakashi was Gai who appeared at the same moment she decided to join in the fight. Luckily she perceived him in time to not get in his way and instead landed a few feet on his right.

"Who the heck are you?" Kisame said, mainly addressing to Gai who had intercepted his attack by kicking him.

"I am Konoha's green sprouting flower of acceptance, Maito Gai!" he shouted, almost causing Ame to sweat-drop.

"Not that it matters, but I am Tsurugi Ame," she answered while looking at them fearlessly.

"What is this? More and more start to appear Itachi-san" Kisame observed.

A slight splash was heard and both Gai and Ame realized that Kakashi must have collapsed. Gai went to catch him before he sank in the water of the river they were all now standing on. While doing so he advised the two other jounins to open their eyes (which they had kept closed after Kakashi told them to) and to monitor Itachi's feet, in order to be able to fight him. Ame was sure that the last part was also addressed to her but she didn't pay any heed to it. In fact she stared at him straight in the eyes.

"Hm, you must be foolish and inexperienced to make yourself so vulnerable to the sharingan, " Kisame said to Ame. She just arrogantly quirked an eyebrow.

"Kurenai and Tsurugi-san take Kakashi to the hospital, I have already notified the ANBU, but for now Asuma and I will take them on, " Gai almost ordered as he took up a fighting stance.

"This should be entertaining…" Kisame said.

"Stop right there Kisame," Itachi cut him off. "We are not here to start a war. Going any further would be nonsense. We are going home."

"After all this…" Kisame said obviously disappointed. "It can't be helped eh?"

And before the others had time to react, the two missing-nins disappeared into thin air.

"Tch, " was the only comment Asuma made.

"We should take Kakashi to the hospital," Kurenai said who was already holding him.

After making sure the intruders had really left Gai dropped his stance and turned to Asuma and Kurenai.

"You two take him, I will go inform the council and you Tsurugi-san…" Gai and the others suddenly realized that she was no longer there.

"How…how the hell did she leave without us noticing?" Asuma questioned.

"And more importantly, where is she now?" Gai wondered.

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**oOoTBCoOo**

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	3. Chasing after

**Don't own anything but my OC!**

I am really sorry I didn't update sooner but I had exams and was also faced with some difficult decisions on how to continue this(many options played in my mind).The last few days have been extremely difficult so, even this small chapter was hard to complete. However, I wanted to update mainly to please my reviewer **something 541 **.

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The two missing-nins were moving very fast. It took almost everything Ame had to be able to follow them and keep her presence unnoticed. The decision to follow them was taken in the spur of the moment. She knew very well that it wasn't rational to pursue two s-rank criminals alone, especially after seeing how easily Itachi had defeated Kakashi. On the other hand, since they hadn't yet achieved their goal, which was to capture Naruto, they would probably try again because, for such men the word failure didn't exist. There was a high possibility that they already knew where their target was and were just pretending to retreat. 

As if to prove her reasoning right, some minutes after they left Konoha their pace lessened and eventually coming to a halt on a tall rock from which they had good overview of the small town that, Ame knew, existed ahead.

Ame had stopped several feet away from the rock so she could only see their figures and couldn't hear them but she had deemed it safer to keep a distance, at least for now.

They seemed to discuss something briefly and come rapidly to a decision because, not much later they begun to move again. Instead of taking the main road, they chose to travel in the forest, obviously for more cover. Upon reaching the town they moved carefully, remaining unnoticed and seemed, for a while, to be looking for something. He saw Itachi approach a woman and presumed that for some reason he had used a genjutsu on her because she seemed a bit weird after that.

_What are they planning?_

It didn't take long to have her question answered. Her eye caught sight of Naruto and Jiraiya get in a hotel across the street from where she has currently standing. She had seen Kisame and Itachi hide in an alley three houses a head and now understood why. She saw the genjutsued woman approach Jiraiya and leave with him while Naruto went in the hotel alone.

_That pervert! How can he leave so easily his charge to pursue a woman!_

_I have to get to Naruto before they make their movement._

With great care she jumped from roof to roof of the nearby bindings and landed in the side of the hotel that was not visible from the street. Then she proceeded to sneak into the building from a window. As she walked in the corridor she was lucky enough to run into one of the girls that were working there.

"Excuse me, can you tell me in which room stays the boy that arrived about a minute ago? The blond one, dressed in orange."

"Ah, him? Yes, he is in 24."

"Thank you" she said and rushed to find it.

…_22…23…24 this is it_

She knocked on the door.

A few moments passed before she heard the door unlock and open. In the opening, much to her relief, stood none other than Naruto.

"Heh? Who are you nee-chan?" he asked perplexed, as he was probably expecting Jiraya.

"No time to explain, you are in danger, we have to find Jiraiya" she answered and pulled him, somewhat, forcibly out of the room and into the hallway.

"Hey, what about my things?" he complained.

"You 'll get them later. Now we must…" her sentence was cut. Naruto saw her turn her back at him abruptly and stand protectively in front of him.

"Well, well, well! Look what we have here Itachi-san. It's that girl from before. Fancy meeting her here" remarked Kisame.

Itachi just stayed silent.

Naruto moved a bit to the right, curious to see who the newcomers were.

"Are they friends of yours nee-chan?" he asked.

Ame looked defiantly at Kisame "I will not let you take Naruto-kun" she said.

"W-what? Take me? What are you saying nee-chan?" Naruto asked, perplexed by the whole situation.

"Hahaha! You really must be stupid to think that you can stop us girl. Stupid, but certainly amusing" Kisame seemed entertained.

"You shouldn't underestimate me, you know nothing about me" she said.

"Huh? Ok then, how about we find out?" Kisame proposed and reached for his sword.

Naruto was totally at a loss. That girl was obviously Konoha-ninja, but the other two? And why had she said that they were after him? Did they know each other? And now they were going to fight? The only thing he was certain about was that the two men had something disturbing about them.

Ame was anxiously trying to buy some time in order to come up with a plan to get Naruto out. It was possible that she could hold Kisame occupied for a bit but what about Itachi? The fact that they were both S-rank criminals which, only very skilled ANBU could possibly defeat, didn't escape her mind The chances of her being able to hold both of them off were probably nonexistent. As Kisame unsheathed his sword she took out a kunai (inwardly cursing her luck for not bringing her ninjato along) and made a quick evaluation of the situation.

_This is the worst possible circumstances. The corridor is too narrow to allow manoeuvres, plus I have no inkling as to what Kisame's abilities are and only a vague idea about Itachi's. I have to _**try**_ to do something but I really hope Jiraiya comes back soon!_

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**A/N**: As you may have already noticed this and the next chapter will be very close to the events of episodes 83-84-85.Though it may seem simple to adapt them or rewrite them as I want, it is very trying(at least for me).Then why am I doing this? Because I feel it is important to follow the main plot at this point since it will, eventually, lead to the later one. Of course there are alterations from the original which I deemed necessary since there is an extra character. If you think I made any mistakes please point them out. Review please! 


	4. Foolish little brother

**Still don't own anything other than my OC.**

Thank you **something541 **for taking the time to review.

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Being left with no other option but to fight, Ame pushed Naruto further back making more room for better manoeuvrability. While taking a battle stance she readied herself to face Kisame and his, very menacing, sword. _Better defend than attack in such close quarters, so I'll let him make the first move_. She eyed him carefully not as confident as before. He must have noticed her slight unease because he said "Not as daring as now eh?" She forced herself to calm down and not to be provoked by his taunting tone but something caught her attention. A figure came into view behind Itachi, who had not moved but had certainly felt the new presence. Kisame must have also noticed because he turned slightly to look at the newcomer. 

_Is that…Sasuke! Oh…no!_

"Uchiha…Itachi" Sasuke said with a low voice.

"Uchiha…Itachi?" muttered Naruto in surprise.

"Hm….Sharingan and he is very similar to you. Who is he?" Kisame asked addressing to his partner.

"My younger brother" Itachi answered dispassionately.

"I heard that all the Uchiha clan was killed…by you." Kisame noted.

"Uchiha Itachi! I am going to kill you." Sasuke's voice was laced with hatred.

Only then, did Itachi move and turned to look at his brother.

"Like you said, I hated you, I detested you and just to kill you, I've survived…I am going to kill you" the younger Uchiha said as a strange lightning jutsu begun to form in his hand, the sound it made was deafening. Then he charged. "DIE!"

_Fool!!! There is no way that you can do anything to Itachi with such a straightforward attack._

No sooner had the words formed in her mind an explosion was herd and the smoke blinded everyone for an instant. The next second she saw that Itachi had grabbed Sasuke's hand causing his jutsu to hit the wall, in which there was now a very large hole. Shock was clear in Sasuke's face.

_I knew it! The thought of revenge has blinded you so much that you cannot see how large the gap between your power and his is._

Itachi's hold on Sasuke's arm tightened and he seemed ready to break it.

"I have to do something" she heard Naruto whisper at himself from behind her.

"No! Do nothing." She half-turned ordered and Naruto saw, for a split second, her eyes turn purple.

"Itachi! Let him go!" she said to Itachi in the same manner she had spoken to the blond. Nevertheless, it was too late, a cracking noise was heard and Sasuke fell to his knees gripping his left hand, obviously in great pain.

Kisame attacked Ame trying to catch her off guard but she managed to dodge to her left. Naruto seeing his friend writhe in pain decided to disregard what she told him. He closed his eyes and his face twisted in concentration. An orange chakra gathered around him, which managed to get both Itachi's and Kisame's attention.

"I see…this is the Nine-tails chakra" Kisame remarked.

Naruto attempted a summoning jutsu (what was the point in doing that Ame could not imagine) but before he had a chance to complete it Kisame swung his sword over Naruto's head and the chakra disappeared.

_W-What!?!_

Naruto's face expressed the surprise Ame felt.

"My Samehada can shave and devour chakra," Kisame said.

_Samehada…his sword…it eats chakra…as if things weren't bad enough!_

"Maybe we should cut off his arms; it would be annoying if he could use his petty techniques." Kisame threatened while extending his sword once again and was about to carry out his threat, when a human-sized frog appeared, out of nowhere, in the middle of the room protecting Naruto.

_Jiraiya…_

"You two don't know me too well, Jiraiya the man is better at winning a girl than being seduced by one. I would not let a woman seduce me with her beauty. When you become great like me, women go crazy over your own beauty," the hermit said as he made his dramatic entrance, carrying on his shoulder the woman, on which, Itachi had earlier used the genjutsu.

"Even though that woman just winked at you and you were all over her. And now you are trying to look cool, you perverted hermit!" Naruto reacted and Ame resisted the urge to nod in agreement.

"Yeah…stop calling me that in front of other people…"the hermit said in response.

"Shut up! Enough of that, these people are not normal perverted hermit! Right? Perverted hermit!" the blond genin said.

"Stop calling me saying perverted hermit!" Jiraiya yelled in protest.

"Hehehe.If it isn't the Jiraiya of the legendary Sannin…Even though you are without equal in your lust I didn't think you would be slowed down so easily," Kisame said with a grin.

"EHH!!! You seriously know this perverted hermit's true form?" Naruto asked surprised.

"That doesn't …particularly mean that is my true form…" Jiraiya interjected.

_When will the foolishness end?_

Ame knew Jiraiya was doing this act while evaluating the situation but it still was a little irritating. On the bright side, if there was one under the circumstances, Kisame seemed to have lost all interest in her for the moment, focusing mostly to the real threat, the Sannin.

"It seems as though you broke the genjutsu hidden in that woman." Kisame said while inspecting the woman Jiraiya was carrying. The toad hermit, slowly, set the unconscious woman down against a wall.

"In order to pull me away from Naruto…To use genjutsu with your hypnotic eyes on that woman…Even to a windward man…that's a cowardly way of doing thing…Your target is, as I thought, Naruto, right?" Jiraiya said in a very serious tone of voice.

"So you figured it out…better late than never." Ame interjected.

"Tsurugi-san, I thank you for your intervention. I do not know how or why you got here but you bought us precious time. Now step back and let me handle this…,"he said and simultaneously his summoned frog disappeared in a puff of smoke.

She reluctantly nodded in agreement. He was one of the Sannin after all, which made him one of the few people capable enough to handle those two.

"I wondered how Kakashi knew, now I see...his informant was you, wasn't it?" Itachi finally spoke. "We were ordered by or organization, Akatsuki, to take Naruto-kun with us as an extreme necessity" he concluded.

"You won't get Naruto," stated the Sannin.

"...I wonder..." was Itachi's response.

"Well then...you two will be taken care of by me right here" Jiraiya said, ready for battle, but a voice interrupted;

"Don't interfere!" said Sasuke as he struggled to get to his feet "The one to kill him...is me."

"Sasuke stop! Can't you see how wide the gap of power is between you?" Ame yelled but he ignored her.

"I have no interest in you," Itachi said coldly to his sibling.

Sasuke clenched his fist and attacked while yelling to his brother "Cut the bulshit" The only thing he managed was to get kicked in the chest and be sent flying to the wall at the end of the corridor.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled in concern and took a step towards his friend.

"Naruto! Didn't I tell you not to interfere!?" Sasuke yelled back making him stop at his tracks. Managing once more to stand he said addressing to his brother "Just as you said...I've lived just for this day...for this day" as soon as he concluded his sentence, he charged once more only to be beaten again. However he doesn't give up "Not yet...", the words come out of his mouth with great effort.

"It is too early...the difference is too clear," Itachi said, so silently, as if speaking to himself.

"This is my fight," stated Sasuke

"...Fine..." his brother agreed.

_W-what? Are you taking him seriously now Itachi?_

As soon as Jiraiya hears that, he attempts to move forward and stop Itachi only to find Kisame blocking his path. "I'm sure you heard them. This is their fight. Let's not have any treachery" the shark-like ninja says with a grin.

Meanwhile, Itachi is walking towards the fallen Sasuke who looks pretty beaten up but is not allowing himself to give up. "Bring it on" he challenges Itachi as he tries once more to land a hit on his elder sibling. The result is the same. Itachi punches him in the stomach, elbows him on the neck and with a kick sends him flying, intending to land one more punch...

Seeing all this Ame can't stand and just watch. She pretends to try an attack on Kisame, dodges and in a split second she is by Itachi's side holding back the hand with which he was about to punch Sasuke.

"That is enough Itachi!" He looks at her mildly surprised and then notices her eyes that are purple now.

"Y-you...those eyes..."he says calmly, as always, but the surprise in his voice is more evident than he would have wanted.

Suddenly the corridor filled with muscle, surprising everyone but Jiraiya. Ame lets go of Itachi as soon as she sees Sasuke's unconscious form being enclosed in the muscle wall. It is then that Itachi notices her eyes are back to their natural silver color.

"This...this is?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"Ninpou:Gamakuchi Shibari...too bad for you...Itachi, Kisame! You guys are already inside my stomach. From the caverns of Yougoku Mountain, I summoned the esophagus of a great frog. You guys are visitors anyway. You'll be this frog's food if this keeps up." Jiraiya threatened.

"W-What the heck is this?" Naruto said while looking around.

"Naruto! Ame! Stay where you are. No need to worry, this is my jutsu." Jiraiya explained, mostly for Naruto's benefit.

"Kisame, come." Itachi orders his partner.

The muscle has trapped Kisame's feet and sword but he manages to rip it and follow Itachi who has already started running to the exit.

"It is useless. No one has ever escaped from here before!" Jiraiya yells after them and pushes the muscle in front of him causing tentacles to separate from the wall to attack the fleeing missing-nins. At the same time, the walls start to close around them.

Naruto Ame and Jiraiya lost visibility and couldn't see what was happening, so the sudden sound of an explosion took them aback. Jiraiya was the first who sprung to action and runed to the direction the Akatsukis had fled to, to see what had happened. Both Ame and Naruto followed him after a second or two and saw him staring in surprise. That which had gained his attention was the large opening on the muscle wall that was surrounded by black flames. Naruto approached them "What is with this fire? It is black" he stated the obvious.

"Don't touch them." Yelled, simultaneously, Ame and Jiraiya to the careless blond.

"Have you seen this before Jiraiya-sama?" Ame questioned

"No…to be able to penetrate these walls…" he said thoughtfully. Then he took out a blank scroll, sat down and started writing in it. When he was done, he performed some hand-seals and said "Fuuin Jutsu: Fuuka Houin". As soon as he uttered the words a bluish smoke enveloped the black flames and sealed them into the scroll, which Jiraiya wrapped attentively and put in one of his pockets.

"Ok, now it is going to be ok. Time to see to Sasuke" said the Sannin and the wall of muscle released the unconscious Uchiha. Naruto rushed at his side, very anxious.

"Don't worry Naruto, he took a very bad beating but it could have been worse. He will be all right but will need hospitalization." Ame informed him and Jiraiya nodded in agreement while dismissing his jutsu completely. Suddenly a kunai was thrown at them from the opening of the wall and in a split second a figure dressed in green had landed a kick on Jiraiya' s face while yelling "Dynamic entry".

"GAI!" Ame yelled as she recognized him.

"Ah! Tsurugi-san! Jiraiya-sama!" he said surprised and looking embarrassed.

Jiraiya didn't look pleased and Ame looked exasperated.

_This has been such a long day!_

After Gai realized his mistake, he proceeded to apologize, giving a lame excuse for kicking the Sannin. When he finished, Jiraiya explained to him what had happened before his arrival.

"Ah, I see, so that is what happened…By the way Tsurugi-san why did you run off like that? You were extremely lucky not to be noticed and killed by those criminals. I understand that you had good intentions but don't be so reckless." Gai firmly scolded her but she accepted it calmly.

"Anyway" said Jiraiya stopping Gai from ranting further "We have to take Sasuke to a doctor. Ame, you take him and Gai…you report this to the council as soon as you get back."

"By the way Gai-san, what happened with Kakashi?" Ame questioned.

"Eh? Kakashi-sensei? Did something happen to him?" asked Naruto who had remained strangely quiet until now.

"Kakashi was attacked by Itachi with a strange jutsu and is now asleep. We don't know when he will regain his senses." Gai answered.

"Sasuke…even Kakashi…why did they do that to them perverted hermit? Change of plans. I was scared before…but now. Now we have to track down and take down those mantled bastards. They have business with me right? If that is the case, we 'll go first!" Naruto said, clearly enraged by what had happened to two of his precious people.

"Even if you say that you will get killed as you are now" Jiraiya firmly cut him off.

"Jiraiya-sama is right Naruto-kun, you see how foolish and stubborn was Sasuke and where it led him" Ame added.

"How dare you speak about Sasuke like that? Shut up, you know nothing" Naruto overreacted.

"I understand how you must feel Naruto but think rationally, you saw how easily Itachi brought him down, without using any jutsu" Ame calmly explained.

"Ame is right Naruto, the levels are too different" Jiraiya said.

Naruto sulked but seemed to seriously think about what they had just told him.

"At times like this…when students are wounded…I think, from my heart…That if **that **medical specialist…that person came here…" Gai said and his sadness was evident in both his voice and face.

"Because of that we are going to go and search for that person now," Jiraiya said with a smile.

"Eh? That person…?" asked a surprised Gai.

"That person…could you mean Tsunade-sama?" Ame questioned

"No way!" exclaimed Gai.

"W-what person, who are you talking about perverted hermit?" Naruto chimed in.

"Yeah, exactly that…another Sannin like myself…the slug user and healer…the one who carries the name of "Gambler" on her back…Tsunade-hime" Jiraiya said overdramatically.

"_This is good…Tsunade-sama will be a very welcome person to the village right now…and…could it be...but of course…how didn't I think about it before…the council must consider appointing her Hokage! It stands to reason since she is one of the Sannin and blood related to the First and Second Hokage…Well, no use thinking about that, I'd better take Sasuke to the Hospital._

"If that is all Jiraiya-sama, I'll head back now with Sasuke" she said to the Sannin, who stated his agreement with a nod. She pulled the unconscious genin up carefully by the hand that was not broken and instantly vanished.

"She is good isn't she?" Jiraiya said to Gai, who had not yet departed.

"Huh? Yes, fairly good for a chunin" he agreed "It really is remarkable how she got so good at sneaking that both Itachi and Kisame didn't notice her."

"Well, it seems that, even though she has yet a long way to go in order to become jonin, old-Sarutobi taught her well," remarked Jiraiya.

"EHH!?!" was both Naruto and Gai's reaction.

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**A/N: **This is yet another chapter, the longest I have ever written. I hope you like it. Feel free to comment or point out any mistakes. Currently I have exams so it is difficult to find time to write. The next 3 weeks will be especially trying but I will do my best to update at least once a week. I don't like to beg but I am a new author, so I would like some reviews to evaluate my work. Thank you for reading. 


	5. Back in Konoha

**I feel bad constantly repeating myself but I'll say it once more: I own only my OC.**

**A/N:**I dedicate this chapter to my reviewers **Something541** and **OmniPhantom.**

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The return to Konoha took almost double the time Ame had needed to reach the town. The reason was of course the limp form of Sasuke which she supported with some effort. At least he hadn't regained consciousness while they made their way back to the village and straight to the hospital. The last thing she needed was a heavily wounded Uchiha demanding to know where his brother was and probably still insisting he could handle him. 

"Excuse me! I have a wounded person here" said Ame trying to get the attention of the nurse in the front desk.

"I'm sorry, I'll have a stretcher pick him up immediately and take him to a room." The nurse apologized.

"No need, just tell me what room is available and I'll take him, just notify a medic."

"C-certainly…room 45 is available; it is on the first floor, across the stairs."

"Thank you" said Ame before vanishing.

As soon as she reached the room she placed the injured genin on the bed. He really was out cold, he didn't even wince as she lay him down but Ame was sure that if he had been conscious he would be in a lot of pain.

_Just as well then, at least he is not suffering._

"Excuse me, they told me you needed a medic" said a voice and Ame turned to see a man in his mid 40s, wearing the standard medical clothing and who was approaching the bed where Sasuke lay.

"Yes, he was beaten up pretty badly and I am quite certain he has a few broken ribs and at least a broken wrist" she informed and the medic shook his head in understanding.

"Very well, don't worry I will examine him carefully, mostly to see if there is a ruptured lung or internal bleeding. I must request that you leave the room, so that I can go through with the examination."

"Of course" she said and walked out the room.

Once outside she took the stairs that led back to the ground floor, while she stretched her arms that had gone a bit numb from carrying the young Uchiha.

_A lot happened today, to imagine that I would run into Itachi when I was on my way to the gate for the usual papers..._

_Oh no! I completely forgot about that…Rika-san is going to be sooo angry._

_I'd better head back to apologize and explain._

Just then she realized she had unwittingly reached the front desk.

"Ah, good! you are back.You were in such a hurry that you didn't tell me the patient's name" said the nurse as soon as she saw her.

"Sorry, I forgot" Ame said with a laugh.

"No problem, it happens a lot here, with people wounded coming and going there is always a chaos" she said smiling.

"His name is Uchiha Sasuke, genin under the tutelage of Hatake Kakashi" Ame offered.

"Ah…so I suppose there is no point in notifying his family…"said the nurse looking a bit sad.

"No, I don't suppose there is…by the way, I have to leave to attend to some matters, he is being examined right now so I thought I could pop out for half an hour or so. Can you please notify me if something urgent comes up?" said Ame.

"Naturally, if only you leave me your name" the nurse agreed

"Tsurugi Ame, if anything comes up send a message to the Hokage building and even if I am not there they will know where to find me, but I don't plan to be gone long."

"Thank you Tsurugi-san we will notify you should it be deemed necessary" the nurse assured her.

Ame simply nodded and disappeared once more in a puff of smoke.

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Rika's reaction was not too bad, probably because she was too tired to do almost anything, so it was easy for Ame to give her a brief and very vague story about two intruders at the gates and how she was obligated to help the guards pursue them. She didn't want to lie but she had deemed it better, not only because it involved two S-rank missing-nins but also Naruto. The council should be the one to divulge or not anything regarding the incident.

Rika and Toma had no reason to disbelieve her so they simply accepted her explanation.

"It is a pity you didn't catch them though." Toma remarked at the end.

"There wasn't much more we could do, it is now in ANBU's hands to either find them or ,at least, keep an eye out for them" Ame said to her colleague "By the way, did you manage to finish with the logistics?"

"Yeah, it was a pain though" Toma said lazily as he stretched his arms over his head.

Rika just threw him a dark glare that probably meant she had ended up doing most of the work alone.

"Then I suppose you will now call it a day and go home, so you don't need me here, do you?" asked Ame.

"Eh? I suppose…"Rika begun but was cut off.

"Good, then I will be on my way, see you tomorrow!" Ame said before leaving the room for the second time that day.

"B-but…" Rika uttered baffled

"Ame-san doesn't seem to ever stop, does she?" Toma said with a smile of amusement.

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It wasn't until about three quarters of the hour later that Ame returned to the hospital. The reason was fairly simple, after having settled things regarding her work she decided that, after all the running around she had done that day, it would be good to head home for a shower and a change of clothes. However, that took about half an hour because, once she got under the pouring hot water, she was very reluctant to leave. Eventually she forced herself out of the shower and into a set of clothing, identical to the one she previously wore. With that done and a great portion of the day's tension gone she once more headed to the hospital to check up on the injured Uchiha.

Upon seeing her, the nurse gave her a reassuring smile.

"Tsurugi-san, I see you are back already. There really is no reason to worry. The medic informed me that the patient suffers from multiple bruising, a few cracked ribs and two broken, as well as a broken wrist. He hasn't suffered internal bleeding and so, with the prescribed treatment, he will be able to leave the hospital in a few days."

"Thank you miss for letting me know" said Ame.

"You are welcome; you can go see him if you like."

Ame was about to follow her suggestion when she remembered something.

"By the way, has a patient by the name Hatake Kakashi been admitted here?" Ame asked.

"Mm, yes, he is in room 52" the always helpful nurse said.

"Thank you" Ame said and this time she headed to Sasuke's room.

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The room Sasuke was in was small and its dominating elements were a single bed and a large window, which allowed the gentle rays of the afternoon sun to illuminate the interior.

Upon approaching the bed she saw the still form of the young Uchiha which was wrapped in bandages. He looked very peaceful as he lay in the white sheets, his expression was calm, and he seemed to be in deep sleep, no doubt due to the medication.

"What have you done to your brother Itachi?…and what is he doing to himself?…"

Ame wondered in a soft voice as she placed her hand to his head and tenderly caressed his hair. That move had an unexpected effect; the sleeping form leaned into the caress slightly as a single word left his mouth "Mom…"

That took her by complete surprise and her immediate reaction was to pull back her hand.

"Mom…don't leave…" Sasuke mumbled in his sleep, obviously agitated.

Ame didn't know what to do, on one hand she felt pity for the boy…she had always felt pity for him, but on the other hand she didn't know if ,even briefly, she could comfort him, she didn't know if she had the right. In her experience, that kind of care never benefited anyone, it could bring relief for a time, but then, when eventually the solitude returned, the pain would become even worse.

"Just this once…" she said, mostly to herself, as she pulled up a chair and sat by his side, taking his arm in hers, hoping that her presence would soothe him, even if it was temporary.

As a matter of fact, as soon as her hand enveloped his, his expression once more softened and seemed to drift back to deep sleep.

_What is this with me and Uchihas?...I really have a soft spot for them and I find myself doing things for them that I really shouldn't. I can't afford to form another attachment with a member of that family._

Having sat down for the first time since she had woken up, gave her the opportunity to go through the events that had led to this. Only now she begun to realize the magnitude of the situation she had been in and the danger, not only her, but Sasuke and Naruto had faced. However, the realization that hit her the hardest was that she had met Itachi for the first time today after 4 years. That fact hadn't yet sank in…

She submerged herself in her thoughts and she wouldn't have noticed that the sun disappeared, allowing the darkness of the night to settle upon Konoha, if a nurse hadn't stopped by to check on the patient and inform her that visiting hours were over. It took a lot of persuasion on Ame's part to have the nurse allow her to remain overnight but she managed it.

Having accomplished that, she returned back to her seat. Sasuke hadn't stirred after that first incident, it seemed that her presence was probably helping him relax.

From the window, Ame could by now see the, not yet fully formed, moon casting its pale light over the calm village. Gradually, the weariness of the day caught up with her, forcing her to a deep slumber. That night she dreamt…dreamt as she hadn't in a very long time. The nightmare she had last night didn't come back, instead she drifted into dreams of happier times…of people that had loved her…of people she had loved…of people she had lost…

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**A/N: **Yes! I managed to update despite my exams and my fever. I know it isn't much but...The next chapter is halfway done so you can expect an update within the week. Please review. Any suggestions, any observations, any questions are welcome. Is there something you really want to see? If it fits to my plot I will be happy to add it. If you locate a mistake please tell me.**Thank you for reading. **


	6. A dull day

**Disclamer: Don't own anything but my OCs.**

**A/N**: Thank you **something541** for your review and kind words your support means more to me than words can express.

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When the first rays of the sun signaled the new day Ame woke up to find herself in an unfamiliar environment near an unfamiliar person. It took her a few moments to remember where she was and why. Her hand was still intertwined with the young Uchiha's. Gently she pulled it away and stretched. 

_Good thing I am a trained ninja or today I would be hurting all over for sleeping like this. _

_He is still asleep…is he still under the influence of the painkillers or should I start worrying?_

_Nah, his body probably needs the sleep to repair the damage._

_I should probably go home and get ready for work…after all he won't be going anywhere anytime soon._

Having made up her mind she left to go perform her duties as a proper ninja of the village.

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The morning went by in a slower pace than what was normal during the last few days, ever after the death of the Hokage. The reason was that many of the most pressing matters had at last been settled and life in the village was slowly but steadily regaining its normal pace. One other reason might have been that everyone in the Hokage building had resolved as many matters as it was within their authority and now, due to the lack of a leader, whose existence more or less provided the tones of paperwork produced and generally brought life to those halls, things had settled and they were left without occupation. The council sanctioned a very limited amount of missions, mostly the most important and expensive ones, which provided the money necessary for the immediate needs of the village. The councilors acted very reserved, as if expecting something. This fact, more or less, confirmed for Ame that Jiraiya must have indeed been authorized to offer Tsunade the position of Hokage.

Whatever the reason for the calmness within the Hokage building, it was unnerving. One day they were running around and working like mad and the next nothing. At least she had a chance to joke and talk with her co-leagues, if only to stop herself from thinking about things she knew she should be but hadn't the courage to face yet.

As soon as she went out of duty Ame went once again to the hospital both to see if Sasuke had woken up and check up on Kakashi, something she hadn't done yesterday after all.

Unfortunately Kakashi was still in a coma, a result of some type of mental attack (as one of the medics informed her).On the other hand, walking in Sasuke's room not only she found him awake but in the company of a pink haired girl, the same age as him. She was pleased to see how much concern the girl's face demonstrated as she looked at him.

_Haruno Sakura, the third genin of team 7, there is no mistaking that pink hair_.

Sasuke, who was now in sitting position and had a better view of the doorway, was the first to notice Ame enter. She went and stood at the end of the bed.

"Good to see you up at last. I see you have company, I hope you excuse my intrusion" Ame said with a smile.

"E-excuse me but who are you?" asked almost timidly Sakura.

"Tsurugi Ame, nice to meet you Sakura-chan" Ame said.

"How did you know my name Tsurugi-san?" she asked with a slight frown while Sasuke was still silent, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

"Please, call me Ame, I am not that much older than you. As for how I knew, it is simple, I work at the Hokage building, mostly dealing with paperwork, and so I've seen your file" Ame explained. That was a slight lie, it wasn't just due to work that she had known who she was. In fact she had purposely looked at all of team7's members but it was only out of curiosity to see what kind of people was Naruto's comrades.

"Ah, I see. Thank you Ame-san for taking care of him." Sakura said timidly but happily.

"You don't have to thank me, it was my pleasure, not to mention Naruto would eat me if I didn't. I just came from work, I wanted to check up on the patient, see if he had finally woken up. He had been asleep ever since I brought him here yesterday and I was beginning to worry" Ame said.

"You brought him here?" asked Sakura surprised and received an affirmative nod from Ame.

"Sakura, didn't you say you were on your way to visit Lee before you found out from a nurse that I was here?" Sasuke asked his teammate.

"Ah, y-yes, but I don't want to leave you alone" she said taken aback by the fact that Sasuke was actually talking to her.

"Don't worry, I'll stay here with him until you return" Ame assured her, getting the feeling that the Uchiha wanted to talk to her without Sakura being there.

"Oh,ok then" Sakura agreed and left, somewhat reluctantly.

For a minute total silence reigned. Sasuke had his head lowered, not making eye contact with Ame. She just waited patiently.

"You were there…with Naruto…" he said turning his gaze at her.

"Yes I was, as I said I was the one that brought you here after…that" she explained, not sure herself why she hesitated, probably to avoid agitating him. She had a feeling that even the slightest mention of his brother was enough to throw him of the edge. In the meantime he had once again turned his face away from her.

"What about…him?"he asked with so much venom in his voice that left her with no doubt about whom he was talking.

"He got away" she answered evenly.

Hearing that, Sasuke clenched his uninjured arm with such fury that it begun to bleed.

Ame mused that his reaction was a mix of twisted joy and frustration. He wanted to be the one to avenge his clan so he didn't want anyone else to kill his brother, but at the same time he felt how powerless he was at the moment. Their confrontation had clearly demonstrated how far he was from becoming his brother's equal, let alone defeat him.

Seeing the blood drip to the clean sheets she took out a bandage from a cupboard near the door, which held medical supplies and took hold of his arm.

"Don't do that" she scolded, forcing him to relax his grip "You are in pretty bad shape as it is, there is no point in having self-inflicted wounds too" she concluded as she begun to wrap the bandage. Surprisingly he didn't resist, his only response was a dark glare but she ignored it.

"There, finished!" she announced happily a few seconds later. "By the way, according to the medics you'll need to stay here for a few more days so if you want me to get you anything…perhaps a change of clothes, I could accommodate you."

Silence was his only response.

"Ok then…if you thing about anything tell me later, I will be by to see you late this afternoon probably.

That exact moment Sakura came back in.

"Ah,Sakura-chan, you can take up the role of the doting nurse now, I have to leave for now but I'll be back. Take good care of him" she said to the younger girl with a bright smile and patted her shoulder.

"Hai!"Sakura responded with some enthusiasm.

As soon as Ame left the room the smile was wiped from her face.

_Sakura must be in love with him,__she radiates happiness just by being near him_…I really hope she won't go through the pain that I have been through…

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**A/N:** Sorry for the shortness but, as I have already mentioned I have little to no time at the moment. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well as the others. Things should be getting more interesting from now on but I need any suggestions and your support to keep going. 


	7. Meeting

**Disclamer: Don't own anything but my OCs.**

**A/N:**I want to thank my reviewers **Something541** and **OmniPhantom **for their support.

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Two days passed during which, Ame would pop in to see Sasuke and she would spend the night by his side, sitting in that same chair. As a result, between Sakura's visits and Ame's, Sasuke was practically never alone but he hadn't said anything to show if that pleased him or not, he simply seemed uninterested in what was going on in his immediate environment. He spent most of his time brooding or looking out the window, or both.

As for why Ame occupied herself so much with Sasuke? It wasn't that she just suddenly had developed a fondness for the young Uchiha. Even she was troubled at first as to why she would do something like that for a person she didn't really know. The answer was very simple, loneliness. It was the first time in her life that she really felt alone…she craved for some company, even if it was a silent one…and perhaps a part of her preferred it that way…just a subtle feeling she was near another person.

During the past 4 years she would always avoid even looking upon Sasuke (not that there were many occasions) and she wouldn't attempt to come in contact with him even though she was probably one of the few people who could understand his pain. The reason she never made the effort was that he looked so much like his brother. That resemblance, which became more apparent as he grew up, was a reminder of Itachi…who had killed his family…who had left Konoha…who had left her…and she just couldn't bare it. Now, Sasuke was little different from the Itachi she had known in the past but despite that, or because of that, she found herself not only baring being beside him, but also wanting to look at him, at that face that bore such resemblance to **his**.

In the afternoon of the fourth day of Sasuke's hospitalization, as Ame was departing from the hospital, leaving once more the young Uchiha to the hands of his devoted teammate, she was surprised to hear her name being called as she walked out the front doors of the hospital. She turned around and saw a slightly out of breath Sakura, who had obviously chased after her.

"Wait please Ame-san" said the girl.

"Is something wrong Sakura?" Ame asked, perplexed.

"No, I just wanted to ask you something."

Ame figured it must be important for her to leave Sasuke alone and so she nodded in agreement.

"Certainly, ask me anything." Ame replied

"You know I almost accidentally found out about Sasuke being injured and thought they say he wasn't so bad, he looked pretty awful, but whenever I ask him what happened he just gets an angry look and doesn't say anything"

Ame almost slapped herself for not seeing that coming. Obviously the girl wanted to know what had happened and she had been quite certain that Sasuke would not be telling that story. In fact, Ame doubted that he talked at all to his team-mate, let alone anybody else. She was sure that Sakura was the one doing all the talking while he just stared out of the window or something along those lines.

"So, since you said you were the one that brought him in I was wandering if you could tell me what happened and maybe if you know where Naruto is because I haven't seen him and I think he should know about this." Sakura finished rambling.

"Look Sakura, I am sorry but I can't tell you anything, it is up to Sasuke to choose if he wants you to know. As for Naruto, he is out of the village on a mission with Jiraiya-sama." Ame said.

"Eh? With one of the Sannin? That Jiraiya? How come?" asked in surprise.

"Yes, the one and the same and I am sorry that I can't answer that question either, I can only tell you it is an important mission" Ame explained. Sakura was obviously astonished by the fact that Naruto was on such an important mission, along with one of the most powerful Konoha ninjas but then her face became a bit sad as her thoughts returned once more to Sasuke. Ame noticed that.

"You like Sasuke a lot don't you?" Ame asked her kindly. The girl just gave a nod while turning a bit red.

"If you do, you must have patience. People like Sasuke are very complex, you must leave him the space he needs and you will probably feel rejected a lot by his behavior but if you think he is worth it the only thing to do is have a strong resolve and stand by him when he needs you." Ame advised and Sakura was by now looking at her with a glimmer of hope lighting her face.

"Thank you Ame-san."

"No need to thank me, just be patient with him." Ame said "Now, I think you have a patient to look after don't you?"

Sakura smiled and nodded before taking the path back to the hospital while Ame took the one that led back to her house.

_Did I really just give her advice on love?_

_What a joke! Me giving advice in a matter I have almost no knowledge._

_I pity her though, Sasuke is so bent on having revenge and there is no telling how far he will go to see it realized._

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Just after nightfall, Ame was silently and stealthily running on the rooftops of the buildings. The reason was that she simply didn't want to be seen. She left the city by jumping over a part of the wall of which, she knew, the guards had little visibility. She traveled for about half an hour through the woods before arriving at her destination.

The valley of the End.

When she had first come to Konoha, she had discovered this place during her nightly wanderings around the area. She was frequently plagued by nightmares so she avoided sleeping at night as much as she could. So, she would sneak out of the house and explore. After she discovered the valley and learned it's name she had wondered why such a beautiful place would have a name that was so ominous. Then she heard a story about two friends that battled each other here, the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara, so she realized that that name had a meaning, it symbolized the ending of the friendship of two men(at least according to the story).

For Ame, this place was special. At first, she viewed it as a refuge, a place she came to think, but later, it became even more special for another reason. That was the moments she had spent here with the person that had left her and had betrayed not only his village but also his family. Even though things had turned out that way, she still loved this place and the memories connected to it because most of them had been happy.It had been a long time since she last came here but tonight, for some reason she felt she had to come. That need was probably fueled by the events of the last few weeks and the turbulence they created in her heart. So, seeing as she was about to spend another sleepless night she decided to come here and try to put her thoughts in order.

"It's been a long time since we came here together" she said and for a moment it seemed as if she was talking to herself. Then a shadow separated itself from the others and came forward, it was none other than Itachi.

"You have gotten good Ame, in both sneaking and detecting" he observed.

Ame got up slowly and turned to face him. As her gaze landed on him her heart jumped a little despite her will but tried not to show any emotion as she started to speak.

"I have grown up, both as a person and as a ninja"

"Yes, but though you are good, you are not exceptional" he said

"What are you doing here Itachi? Because if you are here for Naruto, I can guarantee you will fail again" she said ignoring his remark.

"I am not here for him."

"Then why?" she asked evenly.

"The other day, when we tried to capture Naruto-kun I noticed something strange about you, your eyes turned purple for a moment and I want to know why" he said in a calm tone of voice.

"I didn't know curiosity was such a strong point of your character Itachi" she said and he gave her a very serious look.

"If I tell you…will you tell me why you did what you did four years ago?" she asked.

"…" he obviously was not inclined to do so.

"If you don't I can't tell you either" she said

"…I did it to test my strength and since I proved superior to all of them, they died" he said

"Then what about Sasuke…or me?" she asked

"…"

"Four years…it has been almost four years since you left. I really tried to understand why…why you didn't tell me anything…why you did what you did…but then I realized that I was always just a burden to you, a burden forced to you by the Third that…"

"No" he interrupted her firmly.

She looked at him in surprise.

"I never saw you as a burden but…I couldn't allow any attachments to hold me back." He said in his usual calm voice.

"I would have followed you if you had even hinted you wanted me to" she told him and because her face was not as perfect a mask as she wanted it to be, there was a flicker of pain on it as she spoke.

"…I know" he said and his teal eyes seemed to scan her face.

"Itachi, you will be back for Naruto won't you?" she asked calmly.

"Yes"

"I can't let you do that" she said looking at him in the eyes.

"Then there is a good chance we may have to fight" he said and Ame just nodded while lowering her eyes to the ground. A moment later Itachi turned to leave but she took a few steps toward him and grabbed his hand, stopping him on his tracks.

"I love you" she admitted and her voice was such a low whisper that she wasn't sure he heard her. As she released her grip, he didn't turn to look at her.

"I know" was his calm response before he disappeared into the shadows of the night.

As she stood there, once more alone in this valley, it reminded her the last time she had seen him leave from this place, the night before the massacre and the tears she had been holding back the last few days begun to fall.

"You are so selfish Itachi" she said with a relatively calm voice. The next moment, her legs gave out and she fell on her knees. A few seconds later rain drops came to join themselves with her tears. She welcomed the soothing rain; it felt like someone was crying with her or for her.

Could she really set aside her feelings for this man and obey her duty?

Could she fulfill her promise to the Third, to keep Naruto safe?

She dreaded the moment she would really have to choose between love and duty, because she really loved Itachi, even though she knew what he had done and what he was capable of doing.

She stayed all night in the rain, taking whatever comfort she could from it, knowing that the day to make that choice would come sooner than she wanted.

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**A/N:**I am sorry for not updating earlier but for some strange reason I felt completely drained and unmotivated during the past week, probably because I still have a week of exams. I am not that satisfied with this chapter but I hope it is decent enough. Thank you for reading and don't forget to tell me what you think.


	8. Chapter 8

**Diclamer: Don't own anything but my OC**

**A/N:**I am so sorry for taking so long but life intervened ,as well as my computer who had and still has several serious problems. I hope things will get better but plz have some patience…I know I try to have some but it is like the universe is plotting against me. Many thanks to my faithful readers and especially my reviewers, it is because of you that I haven't abandoned this story.

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"**Hokage-sama?" a 11**** year old Ame asked ,almost timidly, as she stood in the half-opened door of the Hokage office. She looked in and saw that he wasn't alone, an ANBU was in the room as well, so she had hesitated to get in. The Third had summoned her but she didn't want to interrupt anything they were saying.**

"**Ah, Ame, you are here, come in" said the Hokage.**

**She nodded and entered while closing the door behind her. As she approached them.**

"**Itachi why don't you remove that mask so that I can introduce you two properly?" said the Hokage and the ANBU immediately complied. Ame was surprised. It was highly irregular for the ANBU to reveal their identity like this, but what surprised her even more was that once the mask was removed, she found herself staring at the face of a boy approximately the same age as her and not a grown up man, as she had naturally assumed.**

"**Ame,**** this is Uchiha Itachi, Itachi this is Tsurugi Ame. As I just was explaining to you Itachi, I want you to train her."**

"**Eh? But…"Ame stuttered.**

"**Ame, listen to me. Itachi is an excellent ninja who, despite his age, has already joined the ranks of the ANBU. You know I can't go on training you and you are too old to go to the academy, so this is an ideal solution. Itachi will be your teacher and I believe he will do an excellent job."**

"…"**Ame couldn't say anything to counter him but seemed thoughtful, not fully accepting the idea.**

"**I don't want however, anyone to find out about this arrangement, so Itachi will continue doing missions for ANBU normally. Also, Itachi will test to see your strength and weaknesses but I would recommend to focus her training on taijutsu and weapon training mostly since Ame has limited chakra reserve.**

"**Yes Hokage-sama!"**** he said obediently**

"**Very well, Itachi please step out for a moment, I want to talk to her, I will call you once we are done."**

**Itachi slid his mask in place and with a bow left the room.**

"**Sarutobi-sensei…are you sure this is the best solution?" Ame asked, deeply troubled.**

"**Yes. Don't you trust me?" he said and his eyes were full of tenderness.**

"**I do, of course I do" she hurried to assure him" It is just that…I am afraid. What if something happens?"**

"**With both seals in place there is nothing to worry about and you will finally get the training you have to have in order to join the ninja ranks. Isn't that something you want?" the Third said.**

"…**yes" she answered after a small pause.**

"**Then, it is settled, Itachi will be your sensei from now on and I think you will get along superbly" he concluded with a smile.**

Ame opened her eyes slowly. At first she didn't remember where she was. She looked around, taking in her environment. It was her room. Then she remembered…last night, Itachi, the rain...Eventually she pieced them all together. Early in the morning she had come in, wrote a message to work that she was not feeling well and then lied in bed where sleep quickly enveloped her. She didn't have to wonder why she dreamed what she dreamed, it was a natural thing to happen after last night.

Now, fully awake, she knew that this was all the sleep she was going to get so she pulled herself together and out of her bed. After her morning shower and preparation she headed to the flower shop, where she bought a few roses. She had a visit to make that was long overdue.

"Hello mom, dad. I am sorry I haven't been here in a while but a lot of things have happened. I take comfort in the fact that you are together, since I am neglecting you a little…You probably know this but the Third died recently and things have been a bit hard for Konoha, so I have been very busy lately…but I promise to come here more often from now on" Ame said and then placed all the roses, but one, on the grave.

She offered a brief prayer and then walked away to another grave, a more majestic one.

"Sarutobi-sensei…"she whispered. "You know…I dreamt about you today, or perhaps I should say, I remembered the time when you first introduced me to Itachi…He came here last night…he wanted to know about my eyes, at least that was what he said but I don't believe it…maybe I am just deluding myself but…it would be nice if he came just to see me because he missed me…wouldn't it?

When you assigned Itachi as my teacher, it was easy to see that you had another purpose aside from him teaching me, you wanted me to perhaps find a friend…and it worked. We became friends and I eventually fell in love with him…I suppose you couldn't have known what would happen, even I hadn't suspected anything. Masks I suppose are a requirement for ninjas and some of us wear them better than others…What am I supposed to do now sensei? I love him still…am I supposed to just let him go again? Or am I supposed to kill him when he comes looking for Naruto again?"

"Heh, how pathetic am I? I am talking to a grave stone and expect it to give me the answers I can't come up with_"_ she said to herself with a bitter smile.

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**A/N:**I hope you like this.I apologize for the shortness but the next chapter is half way done so you can expect it very soon. It is a bit rushed but that is only because I didn't want to have you wait longer.Please review! 


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I am back, though I really don't know why I want so much to continue this story since so few seem to find it interesting. Anyway, many thanks to those who do read it and many more to those who take the time to review. Just leave one word, even that works wonders for me.

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto**

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"You are being released today eh?" Ame asked the young Uchiha whom was packing the few clothes he had used during his stay in the hospital.

"Yes" Sasuke answered, still laconic as ever but at least he was actually offering words instead of "Tsk"s and "Hun"s.

"I suppose leaving this place is good, I never really liked hospitals…Where is your dutiful nurse?"Ame asked referring to Sakura, but not really expecting an answer.

She looked at the young Uchiha. He looked fine, except for the bandage on his wrist, witch needed a couple more days to mend. Apparently Itachi had almost pulverized the bones with his grip. Aside that, only his psychological condition suffered, according to Sakura who had confided in Ame that he was even moodier than ever before. Ame had a feeling that Sasuke was not only brooding but waiting for something, biding his time and sometimes, she caught glimpses of his face that showed he was struggling with something. She attributed his behavior to his brothers reappearance and the memories it had brought. Her only hope that he was not contemplating something as crazy as abandoning the village to chase after Itachi. She wasn't deluding herself by thinking the confrontation would never come but she knew Sasuke had still much to learn in order to come to his brother's level and, even though he didn't want Itachi to get hurt, she wasn't completely indifferent to what happened to Sasuke.

"How about coming to live with me?" she asked cheerily.

"What?" he blurted in his surprise.

"Come stay in my house, after all your hand is not completely cured yet so you could use the help and I could use the company."

He seemed to seriously ponder on her suggestion.

Ame almost fell down in surprise. She didn't expect that. She thought he would refuse instantly thus forcing her to reveal the real reason behind her suggestion which was of course that the elders had ordered her to keep a close eye on him.

_He probably knows…or at least suspects…what is really going on. Keeping the last Uchiha is of great significance to Konoha, it is of the outmost priority to preserve such a powerful asset. Poor Sasuke, he has such a burden to carry and yet they keep adding to it. _

Sure it was a mission given to her by the elders but it wasn't something she was too reluctant to do. She felt somewhat connected to both Naruto and Sasuke since they were all orphans. Maybe she felt closer to Sasuke than Naruto because, even though it was sad, Naruto had never had parents whereas, Sasuke knew the pain of losing them and Ame had lost her parents twice…

Seeing his reaction, or lack of it, she decided to take a chance.

"If you agree to stay with me, I will train you…" she blurted out before completely realizing what she had said. However her words had earned her his attention.

"Sure I am but a chuunin but I am very well versed in taijutsu and seeing as Kakashi is still out of commission and most ninjas are otherwise occupied…"

He looked at her with doubt.

"Even if I am not as good as I claim, which I assure you I AM, little training beats no training at all" she said while smiling ,almost mischievously.

"Fine" he said and Ame's eyes almost became twice their size in surprise.

_That was relatively easy._

"Good, let's go then" she said happily as she walked to the door of the room but as soon as her hand touched the doorknob he stopped her with a question:

"Why do you care so much about me?"

Ame turned her head towards him. Her expression was totally serious as her eyes met his.

"Because we share the same loneliness."

With that she opened the door and walked out. Sasuke stood there for a moment before nodding and then fallowed her.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, their cohabitation turned out to be easier than anticipated, for both of them. 

Training occupied the largest part of their day. Ame resigned her post at the Hokage's office and left her old apartment. She moved to her old house, the one her parents had left her when they died but which she had deemed to be too big for just one person. Now moving back to that house seemed as the perfect choice. She divided her ,now totally free, schedule between training the young Uchiha, house chores and a lot of thinking.

The thinking part was one more thing the two cohabitants had in common. Ame was happy to have Sasuke around but there was a fact that reduced her joy. Only after moving in with him did she once again remember the reason she had avoided him in the past. Both his outward appearance and his behavior reminded her so much of his brother. Not to mention that Itachi's recent reappearance, combined with Sasuke's presence, were enough to put her mind in turmoil as many memories and feelings begun to resurface.

Training served as a stress reliever to her troubled mind as well as to Sasuke's, who was still(and would probably be for long)struggling with his own issues. Ame was almost glad to see how eager Sasuke was to learn. She quickly saw that he was a very talented ninja with intelligence and quick thinking.

_They were right in calling him a genius. Even though his abilities pale to those Itachi possessed at his age_.

That thought came to mind often during the training but Ame would quickly brush it off, determined to think as little as possible the older Uchiha. She knew however that her thoughts would eventually return to him. They always did.

On his part, Sasuke was almost pleased to discover that Ame was more of a challenge than he had expected. Her abilities surpassed those of a simple chuunin by far. Sure her jutsu's were fairly basic but her taijutsu was exceptional and her sneaking skills matched Kakashi's, a fact that led Sasuke to wonder why she wasn't a jonin.

Ame was not unaware of his thoughts regarding her abilities, especially since she knew he had realized that they were the best counter to the Sharingan. She figured that he wouldn't ask any questions about it, even though it obviously made him wonder, which was good since she was certain that telling him the why and how wouldn't go very well.

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**A/N2:** That is it people. I hope you didn't find it horrible and even if you did just **R&R** to let me know what I did wrong. I have another request as well, what do you think should happen when Sasuke is approached by the team Orochimaru sent? Should he go? What attitude should Ame maintain? Plz let me know what you find more suitable. 


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N1:** Thanks to my wonderful reviewer **something541** for the continuous support.

**Disclaimer:I do not own anything related to Naruto.**

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**oOo**

It wasn't until a full month had passed after Sasuke's release from the hospital that Jiraiya and Naruto came back in the company of Tsunade and her apprentice, Sizune.

The news of the arrival of the next Hokage brought a great deal of excitement to all the citizens of Konoha. Tsunade not only was the 1st's granddaughter and one of the Sanin, but also a master medical ninja of exceptional talent. So, it wasn't much of a surprise that it only took her a few moments to bring Kakashi back from his coma.

As soon as Naruto set his foot back in the village he frantically sought out his team mates and was overjoyed in seeing Sasuke up and about. Sasuke's arm was completely healed by then but that didn't stop Naruto from almost dragging him by force to Tsunade.

The arrival of the new Hokage made a great difference to the ambiance of the village. A big celebration was organized to welcome the person whose presence brought new life and hope to Konoha…for everyone but Sasuke.

In the few days of living under the same roof Ame had seen his troubled and brooding expression but his mood had seemed to lighten a bit as days went by (it was barely noticeable mind you).Sakura had confirmed that in fact he seemed a bit less preoccupied and Ame was glad to see that perhaps there was still some hope for him. However, that slight change evaporated the minute he saw Naruto. It was like a switch had been turned on.

With Kakashi up an about the team seemed ready to set out on other missions but that wasn't really the case. The war with the Sand-Sound had weakened Konoha's forces significantly, so all the available and particularly, the high ranking ninjas were required to go out on missions. Kakashi, being one of the best, had a lot of S-rank missions to perform, which kept him from his teaching duties. However, seeing as the rest of team7 was not consisted of powerless ninjas, Tsunade sent them in a mission by themselves, much to Ame's dismay.

**oOo**

A few days after the Fifth had settled to her new residence Ame received summons to Tsunade's office. There she was introduced formally to the new Hokage and was not surprised to discover that she was meeting privately with her. Ame had imagined that Sarutobi would have left some information concerning her and her real abilities in order to keep his successor informed and as she found out from Tsunade, her assumption was correct.

"I was looking at the files left behind by the previous Hokage and came across an interesting file…yours. As I understand you have some special abilities that permit you to act as an ANBU but without being actually a member of the unit," said Tsunade but her tone was a questioning one.

"Yes Hokage-sama. Your predecessor and I had come to that arrangement that allowed me to live as I wanted while permitting me to use my particular talents should a mission would require them."Ame answered.

"So you have never wished to advance to the ranks of the jonin or officially join the ANBU?" Tsunade asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Indeed I have not. After all my abilities in certain fields are really poor, as you have probably seen from my file," Ame explained.

"Though I agree that your inability to use but the most basic chakra based techniques is problematic, however your taijutsu is exceptional and you have that unique eye technique that sets you in the jonin league. I don't want to pressure you though so I will keep the arrangement you had with the Third though we could really use your abilities outside of just assassination missions. I will respect that Sandaime wanted this agreement to remain intact" Tsunade said and her statement relieved Ame greatly.

"Now, on another note Tsurugi-san, I understand the council has assigned you to watch over Uchiha Sasuke."Tsunade's words were more of a statement than a question but Ame nodded in ascent.

"I agree that we must keep an eye on him but not because he is the sole Uchiha and thus he is very valuable to the village, as is the wish of the council, but because he might be targeted by Orochimaru again and that will put him in danger as well as his companions," Tsunade concluded.

"Now, aside from all that I do have a mission to assign to you. Your particular skills are required and it is an assassination but it won't take you too long. You will probably be back before team 7 returns from their own mission," Tsunade said while handing her the scroll that contained the particulars of the assignment.

"Yes Godaime-sama," Ame said as she took the scroll.

She excused herself with a bow and left to prepare. She was a bit irritated that Team seven was sent on a mission without Kakashi, especially since both Tsunade and the elders thought that Sasuke was in such a great need of protection. But Ame knew it would be useless to debate with the Hokage since, she had already reached her decision. So, she simply resigned herself to doing her duty of keeping Sasuke under a watchful eye when he returned.

Little did she know that those few days of that mission would become a turning point.

**oOo TBC oOo**

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**A/N2:** This is it. For some reason it took me a lot of time to write this and even more to read and re-read it. There might be some mistakes I have missed if so feel free to point them out. I would appreciate any reviews from those that do read this, since the whole purpose is for me to improve my writing and without reviews I can't do that.

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	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto**

**A/N1: **Many thanks to **something541**,** Black Amber** and **ItY'girl **for reviewing.

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**oOo**

Ame was exasperated and she had every reason to feel that way.

Team 7 had returned to Konoha but the only reason she knew that was because Sakura had visited to inform her. Why did she have to learn that from Sakura instead of Sasuke? Because he had not retuned to the apartment, in fact he couldn't return as he was hospitalized…again.

She was beginning to see a pattern there.

Sakura had explained that, during the mission, the team had come across some unexpected complications, which was the reason why Sasuke ended up needing healing once again. She had also said that his situation was far from serious but he would need to stay overnight at the hospital, simply as a precaution.

Unfortunately, when Sasuke came home the next day Ame was unpleasantly surprised to see that his moodiness was back and stronger than ever. From Sakura's account she had been able to conclude that the one who completed the mission and defeated the enemy jonin was Naruto. Apparently that had irritated Sasuke. She could understand his frustration, the possible anger he directed at himself for not improving as fast (if not faster) as the person whom (according to Kakashi) he saw as his main rival. Sasuke said nothing as he walked in, he simply took of his shoes and locked himself in his room. Reluctant to intrude on his privacy, she decided to simply watch him from afar, thinking that his teacher should be the one to handle the situation.

**oOo**

A few days later, while Ame was in the middle of cleaning the apartment she heard a frantic knock on the door. As she answered the door, she was more than surprised to find a clearly distraught- on the verge of tears- Sakura.

"What is it Sakura? What's wrong?" Ame asked the girl as she led her, to the couch. She sat beside her, carefully studying her face.

As soon as Ame made eye contact with Sakura's, tears begun to flow from the younger girl's eyes. Ame, whose face now was filled with concern, reached out and hugged her. It was an effort to both calm and comfort the girl. That seemed to work because, a few minutes later Sakura pulled away, wiping her tears with the back of her hands.

"Do you feel better now Sakura?"Ame asked, somewhat concerned with the girl's behavior.

"I am sorry Ame-san, I just…Naruto and Sasuke had a fight today," she tried to explain.

"I take it that it wasn't just their regular quarrels. The ones in which Naruto tries to goad Sasuke into fighting him, trying to prove he is superior," Ame said with a frown.

"No…it was serious…I think they were trying to kill each other…"her voice cracked and new tears appeared at the edges of her eyes "Thankfully Kakashi-sensei intervened in time and stopped them."

As Sakura uttered those words, Ame let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding. For a moment she had though one of them had actually succeeded in either injuring the other severely or worse.

"But Naruto and Sasuke may try again…Even Naruto was serious and he told me not to interfere again."Sakura concluded and the tears she had been holding back begun to fall again.

Ame smiled sweetly at the girl as she patted her on the head "Sakura-chan, boys will be boys, don't worry too much. You can be sure that both Kakashi and I will reprimand them severely. If anything like this ever happens again, I am sure Tsunade-sama will take matters to her own hands and we all know that no one can disobey the Hokage. So, don't trouble yourself too much, just be there for them. This silliness will pass."Ame's words seemed to have a positive result.

"I know I can trust you and sensei to solve this but I can't help but feel uneasy…" Sakura said thoughtfully.

"Why?"Ame questioned.

"I keep feeling he is drifting away from us, away from me. I fear that he will leave."

"That is just a fear Sakura. Sasuke is a Konoha ninja and your comrade, yours and Naruto's. He has been trough a lot in the past months and needs time to figure things out but he won't betray the village and he won't betray you," Ame said with a certainty she didn't feel. However, her words must have worked because Sakura left much calmer than her previous condition and more assured.

Ame, on the other hand, was worried. For some reason she did not believe even half of what she had said to Sakura. Maybe because she had lived through another, similar situation she was now being more cautious. At that time she hadn't understood the signs, until it was too late. Could she now prevent the past from reoccurring?

**oOo**

About an hour later she received another visit, this time from Kakashi.

"Hello Ame-san" he said as Ame made way for him to enter the apartment. She had expected he would eventually drop by.

"I didn't expect you to visit Kakashi-san. If you are here for Sasuke, he has not returned yet,"

Ame motioned him to come inside, which he did.

"I know, I talked to him some time ago. It was you I wanted to see."

"Is that so? Well, do sit down please. I will get some tea," Ame said as she went to the kitchen to prepare the water. She returned with a wooden tray that contained two smoldering cups, filed with the greenish liquid. She set the tray down and placed Kakashi's cup in front of him. Then she picked up her own and sat down opposite him.

"Sakura came by…she told me what happened," Ame informed him.

He nodded in understanding "I imagined she would, seeing as she regards you as an older sister."

"Is there a reason you came to see me?" she asked.

"I want you to watch Sasuke very carefully…I have to leave for a mission but will be back fast," he explained.

Ame frowned."They really were serious then?" she asked.

"Yes, they were about to fight with everything they had," he admitted

"Did you talk to Naruto?"

"No, Jiraiya-sama would talk to him," he answered.

"But you don't think nothing will come of it," she said in a questioning tone but it was more of an observation.

"No, I don't…Their rivalry is a good motivation for them to reach and try to surpass their limits but, it can also cause serious conflicts. Especially since Naruto is irritated by the fact that Sasuke doesn't openly admit he has recognized him as a rival and since Sasuke begins to see that Naruto's growth seems to surpass his own,"Kakashi explained.

"It also doesn't help that Sasuke made contact with Itachi now. Not to mention that he heard Itachi was looking for Naruto. He must be twice frustrated," said Ame.

Kakashi nodded in agreement "The possibility still exists, that Orochimaru might try to lure him to his side."

"Even worse, he might want to go out of his own free will," she said.

"That is why I want you to be extra vigilant, especially now that the events are still recent" he said, completely serious.

"Don't worry Kakashi-san, I'll do my duty."

"Now, now, Ame-san, I know that it is not just duty that drives you…"he said with a tender smile, concealed behind his mask.

"No…I must admit that I have certain fondness for Sasuke and would like to help him as much as I can. Not only for his sake but for Sakura and Naruto as well" she admitted.

He simply nodded in understanding. Then, as they sat in silence for a minute, he remembered something.

"By the way Ame-san, I saw some of Sasuke's new moves. As I understand you were the one who taught them to him."

"Yes," she admitted. "It was a way to persuade him to stay with me. Both the elders and the Hokage approved it, especially since you were hospitalized at the time. I hope you don't mind."

"Ah, I see. No, nothing like that, I just wanted to confirm it…I wasn't aware you were so talented in taijutsu" he said, looking straight into her eyes.

"I have some limited skills, Sasuke is an excellent student with a mediocre teacher," she replied, avoiding eye-contact.

"Ah… but Ame-san, if the teacher is not very good the student can't learn properly, even if he is exceptional. Nevertheless, I won't press you to tell me why you deny your own skills. I have a mission in about an hour and I have to prepare. Thank you for both the tea and your time," he said as he got up.

Ame accompanied him to the door to bid him farewell and to wish him well on his mission.

**oOo TBC oOo**

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	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. **

**Beta-read by Wairudo-Man.**

**A/N1:**Many thanks to my reviewers **Something541 **and **ItY'girl**.

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**oOo**

_It was right after dusk when a 14 year old Ame reached the remote training grounds on the edges of Konoha. Itachi was already there, sitting below a tree, staring into the distance. Ame approached him with a smile, which disappeared as soon as she saw the serious expression he wore._

"_Itachi-kun?"_

"_Ame-chan" he acknowledged her presence._

_She sat beside him._

"_Itachi-kun, are you alright?" she questioned._

"_Yes…just a bit distracted" he said._

"_You are thinking about the next mission?"_

"_Mm…"_

_In front of everyone Itachi appeared to be a polite, very skilled child of few words. He was the pride and joy of his clan. In private he was very introverted and a loner. Only two people could be considered close to him, Shisui and Ame._

"_Ame-chan…" he begun._

"_Yes?"_

"_Your name means rain doesn't it?" he asked in an absentminded manner._

"_Y-yes…Itachi-kun is everything ok?" she questioned, concerned by his so out of place comment._

"_Hm? Yes…why are you asking?" he inquired, obviously preoccupied with something._

"_It's, just…you seem a bit sad," she explained._

_Itachi looked at her with a slightly surprised expression, his emotional mask slipped from its place a bit._

_Itachi sighed. "There is no way to hide from you Ame-chan, is there?" his voice had a trace of sadness._

_It had been always like that with Itachi. He rarely showed his true emotions, there were only slight indications that enabled the people closest to him to understand his feelings and thoughts. Ame was a natural in picking up the signs. Itachi had often wondered why a person who had no real connection to him was able to understand him better than his family. There was something between them that ran very deeply. Not long after they had met, they had developed an unusual attachment to each other that went far deeper than simply friendship. They would often meet outside of training and simply sit side by side without talking, as if their proximity was by itself a form of communication. They had kept their relationship a secret from most people because sharing it would somehow diminish its importance. _

"_Did something happen?"_

"_Shisui is dead…" he whispered. That took her by surprise._

"_I am sorry…I know how much you cared for him" she could understand how hard it must have been for Itachi to lose someone he considered almost a brother but at the same time she felt that somehow there was something more to this. An ominous feeling overcame her. It was so strong that she couldn't even bring herself to ask what had happened to his best friend. Without knowing why she felt that she didn't want to hear the answer. So she stayed silent, watching him stare blankly ahead. _

_He had changed in the past few weeks. She had seen his behavior shift gradually. He would often be immersed in his thoughts, as if he was struggling with the solution to a complex problem. There was also a silent anger deep inside him, brewing. What worried Ame even more was the fact that he didn't talk to her. He spent most of his time on missions and avoided her questions saying that she was just over thinking things. The only thing she had managed to find out was that Itachi was having some problems with his father. Ame could see that he was distancing himself but she didn't know why._

_In the spur of the moment she reached out and touched his arm_

"_Don't…" she blurted out without realizing._

_He turned calmly to face her, his emotionless mask back in place._

"_Don't what?" he asked, locking gazes with Ame._

"_Don't do this, don't shut me out."_

_Itachi simply gave her a complaisant smile "I don't know what you mean Ame-chan."_

"_I just get the feeling that you are trying to keep a distance, that you are far away, that you are leaving…Don't leave." she said, her eyes filled with unshed tears as she looked at him in the eyes. One, managed to escape, despite her efforts and ran down her cheek._

_He brushed it off with his thumb gently and looked at her tenderly. It was an expression he rarely (if ever) showed._

"_Ame, I must leave, I have a mission, I can't neglect my duty…surely you understand that?" he said._

"_I am sorry…I don't know what got into me" she said, trying to shake the ominous feeling that was gripping tightly at her heart._

"_Good, now how about we go home. I have to prepare and no doubt your parents will worry if you don't return soon." He said as he got up, offering a hand to help her up._

"_Ok" she agreed and took the offered hand. As she was about to leave in the direction she had come from she turned to him "Itachi…I am really sorry for Shisui."_

"_Mm…me too," he said with eyes downcast. _

_After a brief pause he approached her and kissed her on the forehead._

"_Goodbye," he whispered before disappearing, leaving no time for her to react. That word had been uttered so softly that Ame was unsure if he had in fact said it._

**oOo**

Ame opened her eyes.

_**A dream? No, a memory.**_

She thought as she got up from her bed.

_**It was such a vivid memory. It is no wonder I suppose, since that was the last time I saw Itachi before our recent encounter. Sasuke's behavior is affecting me more than I thought. But why do I feel like I am missing something?**_

It was then that realization dawned on Ame.

_**How could it be? This is the answer? No! It can't be. Stop it Ame, this is ridiculous, just go find Sasuke and stop thinking nonsense and making up stories.**_

After reprimanding herself, Ame decided to heed her own advice and go look for Sasuke. She had neglected him long enough and it would be considered dereliction of her duties.

**oOoTBCoOo **

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	13. Chapter 13a

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own Naruto.**

Many thanks to my beta-reader** Manic 8-ball (**formerly known as** Wairudo-man).**

**ItY'girl **and** Something541 **many thanks for reviewing.

**A/N1:**I feel the need to clarify something, this will be an **Itachi**x**OC** fic. Just in case anyone had been wondering.

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**oOo**

The lateness of the day caught Ame by surprise as she left her apartment. The moment she set her foot outside, she saw that the sun had descended low enough to touch the horizon.

_**I must have dozed off for more than I had thought! It is already dusk!**_

She thought, at the same time realizing how long Sasuke had been gone. Therein lied the second surprise that Ame experienced that evening. She had never before realized how difficult it was to locate a person, which probably didn't want to be found, in a vast village like Konoha. The streets were still crowded and Ame decided to use the roofs in order to have both a better view and freedom of movement. During her search she even saw Naruto and Sakura going into the ramen shop. It took her more than an hour to, at last, locate the young Uchiha and much to her surprise, he was not alone. Luckily, as soon as she perceived the presence of others she immediately hid herself behind a tree, successfully masking her own presence. She intended to first evaluate the situation and then act.

There were four people surrounding Sasuke. Three boys and a girl. All of them wore the same kind of clothing, as if it was their uniform. The most noticeable thing was a large, purple bow that all of them had in common. Ame, in fact, found that bow more peculiar than the fact that one boy had two heads and another three pairs of hands.

_**Just who might they be?**_

Everything clicked into place as soon as she spotted the headband of the six-handed guy.

_**Sound! So…Orochimaru began moving again!?**_

From her position she could clearly see and hear everything, so she decided to interfere only if she deemed it necessary. She wanted to see how Sasuke would react.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, his voice laced with anger.

"The Sound four," replied the six-handed guy.

Hearing that, Ame clenched her fists in anger. They were Orochimaru's best lackeys…the ones that had helped him kill the Third! Still, she didn't reveal herself but waited patiently to see how things will play out. The four proceeded to introduce themselves:

"I am Kidoumaru of Toumon," said the six-handed one.

"I am Sakon of Sanmon," said the two headed one.

"I am Jirobou of Nanmon," the fat one introduced himself.

"I am Tayuya of Hokumon," said the girl.

After a brief pause they all charged at Sasuke but he countered their attacks successfully, only to discover their bodies had been replaced by logs, via the use of kawarimi no jutsu. The four were standing, unharmed, on the building behind him.

"I am in a bad mood right now. If you want to fight, I won't hold back," Sasuke said in a menacing tone.

"Don't talk big, weakling. Come on…I'll play with you!" Sakon challenged before he charged at Sasuke.

Though Sasuke's taijutsu had improved quite a bit, it was no surprise to her that he was completely beaten by them. Even then she didn't interfere, certain that if she did, the young Uchiha would not be very pleased. For some reason she didn't think this was a kidnapping.

Tayuya's words came in time to assure her of that. "It is pointless if we force you to come. You must decide."

"Orochimaru-sama sure gave us a troublesome job. So what is it going to be? Are you coming…"started Sakon as he threw Sasuke, slamming him on the wall of the nearby building, "or not?"

The four once more surrounded the young Uchiha, who had sunk to a sitting position, with his back on the wall. Ame moved to a better position on the tree, carefully, in order to remain unnoticed.

"I feel like killing this weakling for being so hesitant," Sakon continued. Ame was barely restraining herself at that point. Ready to take things in her own hands any second now. What she saw caused her to gasp inaudibly. Sasuke's body was slowly being covered by black spots.

_**What is that?**_

"Try it," Sasuke growled as he charged at Sakon, only to be thrown back down with ease.

"Releasing the cursed seal?" Sakon mocked, running a hand through his hair."You are not the only one Orochimaru-sama likes."

Both Ame and Sasuke were surprised to see similar dots now covering the two headed guy's face.

"You shouldn't be using the cursed seal so carelessly. But it seems like you can't control it. If you stay in the released state for too long the seal will eventually consume your body."As Sakon begun talking, the spots on Sasuke's body begun to subside and disappear.

_**Cursed seal? **__**When did Sasuke get something like that? More importantly…why didn't Kakashi tell me anything about this?**_

"It seems like you are still in the first stage, so the speed at which it spreads is slow. Once it completely takes over your body, you will lose yourself. Forever." At that point of Sakon's explanation, Sasuke's seal had returned to its unreleased form.

"In return for gaining power through the cursed seal, you will be under Orochimaru-sama's control. We have no freedom. In order to gain something, you must throw something away…What is your purpose? Is it to stay in this joyful village and lick each other's wounds? And then forget everything…about Uchiha Itachi?" Tayuya questioned.

As Ame expected, at the mention of his brother Sasuke's eyes widened before his face took an expression of deep hatred and anger.

"Don't forget your purpose. This village is nothing more than a shackle. You should just break such worthless bonds." Sakon added before the four of them vanished into a whirl of leaves.

Deeming it safe, Ame jumped from the tree to where the young Uchiha sat silently, angrily gripping a leaf.

"You certainly are the source of trouble today," she remarked casually.

He looked at her. His expression was a mix of surprise and anger. He hadn't noticed her presence until she came out right in front of him.

"How long have you been here?" he questioned.

"Long enough to learn what they came here for and who sent them," she replied as she kneeled next to him, examining his wounds. "It doesn't look bad, just cuts and bruises. Frankly, I am surprised after seeing what happened. I expected you to be in worse state."

"You didn't notify the ANBU?" he asked.

"No, I had a feeling I didn't need to and I wanted to see what you would do," she said in total honesty.

Sasuke seemed to, briefly, think about it before nodding, accepting the explanation.

"Let's go home. We should treat those wounds and I think we have some things to discuss."

That earned her a reluctant nod from the young Uchiha. He knew he couldn't do anything else than follow her, not only because she had witnessed all she had but more importantly because he knew he couldn't easily get away from her. In the worst case scenario she could sound the alarm and all the village would be after him before he even took a few steps outside the gates.

**oOoTBCoOo**

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	14. Chapter 13b

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Many thanks to my beta-reader** Manic 8-ball.**

Many thanks to **ItY'girl, Something541 **and **greenteamoose **for reviewing.

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**oOo**

Ame led the-somewhat- unwilling teen back to the apartment and sat him on the sofa before leaving to get the medical kit from the bathroom.

"You know…today has been a particularly busy day," Ame said as she sat down beside him.

She then placed the kit on her lap and opened to start the treatment of those cuts. Sasuke simply sat there, silent and unmoving.

"…first Sakura comes to me crying to tell me that you and Naruto had gotten in a serious fight. Then Kakashi arrives and confirms that you had both gone all out against each other…two people who are Konoha's ninjas but most importantly, two people that are members of the same team," she said in a very serious tone.

"Shut up! What do you know? Who do you think you are? You are not my mother! You don't even really know me" Sasuke yelled, shoving her hands away, getting up and turning to face her. His outburst took them both by surprise. For a few seconds they remained frozen, staring at each other. The first to recover was Ame.

"You are right, I am not related to you and I haven't known you for long but that doesn't mean that I cannot understand some of the things you are feeling. Though the loss you have experienced was sudden and unexpected, you are not the only one who has suffered that kind of fate."She said as she pulled him to sit back down and continued tending to his wounds in silence. When she finished, she put the kit on the table.

The young Uchiha got up and slowly headed to his room but before he got in Ame's voice stopped him.

"Sasuke, you are young but you are not a child, you are a ninja. I don't want to preach; I just want you to think very carefully what path you will take and make sure it is the one that is the best for you. Don't just turn your back to the people that care for you."

He didn't reply and just got in and closed the door behind him.

Ame knew she was duty bound to report the events that had transpired with the Sound ninjas to the Hokage but she didn't. The reason was that she hoped Sasuke would make a conscious choice not to abandon his friends because if he didn't, maybe not the Hokage, but definitely the council would imprison him in order to keep him here. If they learned she had hid this she would be in trouble but at the moment that was the least of her problems.

**oOo**

Midnight passed and the darkness of the night deepened. It was at that hour that Sasuke, chose to sneak out of the house with the purpose of abandoning the village of the Hidden Leaf. Despite what Ame and Kakashi had said he had made his decision and that was to seek power…enough power that he could exact his revenge, no matter what the cost. He had packed some essentials in the pack that was now on his back and had waited until an hour he assumed Ame would be sleeping. He climbed out of the window of his room and then descended to the street, careful not to be seen.

Despite his hopes however, Ame was awake and heard the window open. No sooner had Sasuke set foot on the street than Ame opened the door of his room only to find out he was gone.

_**So that is your answer? Cut all ties and gain more strength. I wonder if Itachi had felt like this.**_

She thought as she rested her head on the doorframe.

_**And now what?**__** Raise the alarm? Do I have the right to stop him from what he wants to do? I can't stop him from leaving but I must decide where I go from here.**_

**oOo**

The next morning was very trying for Ame. The Hokage was notified about the absence of Sasuke by the chuunins that had found an unconscious but unharmed Sakura in one of the benches along the road that led to the gates. After Tsunade had formed a team of genins to locate and bring back the young Uchiha, she had summoned Ame to demand explanations and officially reprimand her.

Ame had tried to argue that it was not wise to force Sasuke to come back since they could do nothing short of imprisoning him in order to keep him in the village.

"You could have stopped him! There is no way he snuck past you! I don't think you have forgotten that I know your true abilities! You lied to the elders but you can't lie to me! What were you thinking? Do you realize what the repercussions might be if the council finds out you lied?" said an angry Tsunade, pausing for a breath to collect herself. "I have already dispatched the genin team to find him. The team leader is Nara Shikamaru, the members are: Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Choji and Hyuga Neji."

"You sent Naruto?" asked Ame in surprise.

"Yes, what did you expect? Did you think that Naruto would take this calmly? I am sending you as well. As you know all the jonins are out on assignments so you are the best support that team can get. If this fails the council will chew you to pieces so try to bring Uchiha Sasuke back and you might get off lightly," Tsunade explained, "You have 15 minutes to prepare and meet me at the gates."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."Ame bowed her head obediently.

-

**oOo****TBCoOo**

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	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but my OC.

Many thanks to my beta-reader **Manic 8-ball.**

**A/N1:**I am sorry it took so long to update but I needed to write this chapter as best as I could. Many thanks to **something541** and **greenteamoose** for reviewing. Also, many thanks to **Dreamer of Universes** for the help and advice.

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**oOo**

_**This morning is turning out to be worse than what I had anticipated. I had expected an upset Sakura, an angry Naruto, a furious Tsunade and a severely disappointed council. Well…I did get the last two. I had predicted that a retrieval attempt would be made, but I didn't think they would send a freshly appointed chuunin, along with a group of genins.**_

_**Why don't they understand that going after Sasuke is futile? They can't keep him here! Do they really think I wanted to let him go? Short of imprisoning him there is no way he won't try again to leave. Now, I have no other option but to follow them and keep them from getting killed… if I can. **_

With those thoughts in mind Ame headed home to get the gear she would need.

When the appointed time arrived Ame was already at the gates. Much to her surprise however, Tsunade appeared a quarter of an hour later. Both by her lateness and by her frowning when she did arrive, Ame was absolutely certain that something had happened in the past half an hour.

"I am sorry I was late. There was something I had to take care. We have now confirmed that Orochimaru has dispatched some of his subordinates to accompany Sasuke. Apparently they are very dangerous individuals. They heavily wounded two jonins on their way out of Konoha," Tsunade said.

"Are they ok?" Ame questioned, slightly alarmed.

"Yes, they will be alright after a few days in the hospital. Luckily Shizune repaired a significant amount of damage on the site of the attack, something that probably saved their lives," Tsunade explained.

"I see…that is fortunate," said Ame.

"Indeed. This only proves that Shikamaru's team will be unable to handle them all. They might be very strong genin but…" Tsunade's voice trailed away.

"They are still genin," Ame completed her phrase.

"Exactly and unfortunately you might not be enough to handle Orochimaru's subordinates. So, you will head towards the borders as fast as you can and meet with the Sand team," Tsunade instructed.

"Sand?" asked Ame.

"Yes, they are headed here to seal the alliance we have agreed upon. Give them this scroll, it explains the situation, and then accompany them to find Shikamaru's team," clarified Tsunade.

"Will they agree to help us?"Ame questioned.

"They will because they need this alliance more than we do. The war left their village in a worse condition than ours." Tsunade assured her.

"We are very lucky they are already on their way to Konoha."Ame observed.

"Indeed. Your personal assignment is to guard Naruto. Leave the rest to our Sand allies."Tsunade agreed.

"Very well Hokage-sama, I will do as you have instructed," Ame said with a bow before starting to walk out of the gates.

"And Ame…" Tsunade intercepted her.

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"Whatever you do, do not open the second seal," Tsunade said with a grave expression.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Ame said before disappearing. Leaving a frowning Tsunade behind.

**oOo**

It hadn't been too difficult to find Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, but Ame was anxious since she felt that she was wasting valuable time. As Tsunade had predicted, the Sand ninja's immediately agreed to help and so Ame led them to the path the team Shikamaru had taken.

By following it they discovered that the team had gotten separated. They also met some medics who were carrying one wounded member of that team, Hyuuga Neji. They were also informed that another genin, Akimichi Chouji, had been taken to the hospital in a critical condition.

Ame was significantly alarmed. She knew that Neji was the Hyuuga prodigy. She remembered Ricka's fevering enthusiasm as she described in every detail his fight during the last part of the chuunin exams. Not only that, she had also seen his file and she was certain that he would become an extraordinary ninja.

Though it was true that he had defeated his opponent as the other injured genin had done, but they both had ended up in a state that they might end up losing their lives. Ame was no fool. She had seen the cursed seals that had appeared on one of those Sound ninjas and though she didn't know the precise effects, it was enough to assume that their opponents would not be easily defeated. But at least, two of the four were now out of the picture, due to the two, critically injured genin.

Followed by the Sand team, Ame proceeded to trail the tracks. Eventually they reached yet another point, where the three remaining genin seemed to have come in contact with two of the enemies and had separated into two groups.

"Naruto's tracks are the most easily discernable. He appears to have gone after one of the enemies along with one of the other members of his team. The third member probably decided to take care of the other enemy and has gone towards the east, probably looking for a more favorable location to engage in combat," Ame explained.

"So, now what?" Temari questioned.

"I will follow Naruto's tracks and one or two of you should go after the third member and help him against the Sound ninja," Ame said.

"There is no need. I will go find him and the rest of you go after that Naruto guy," Kankuro intervened.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Ame asked.

"Of course," he replied with an arrogant smile.

"Fine. Then Gaara and I will go with you Tsurugi-san," said Temari.

"Very well. Lets go!" Ame ordered and they all departed simultaneously.

**oOo**

Minutes later they located Shikamaru who was fighting the girl of the Sound team.

"I don't see Naruto or Sasuke and Shikamaru seems to have reached his limit," Ame commented as they observed the situation from a distance.

"I will go assist him. You go on and see what happened to them," Temari offered, to which both Gaara and Ame nodded in agreement before leaving.

_**This is weird. From what we know the enemies were a group of four but from the tracks I see it seems that another person came here and was then pursued by Naruto. The peculiar thing is that that persons tracks are deeper as he heads away from here. It is as if he was carrying something…could it be Sasuke?**_

"Gaara-san, let us hurry!" she said as she picked up the pace.

The Sand ninja simply followed her. Not saying anything.

**oOo**

Before long, they reached a clearing. Much to their surprise, there they saw Rock Lee fighting a white haired guy, whose bones where sticking out of his arms and chest.

_**He wasn't with those who met Sasuke but his clothes make it obvious that he is also one of the ninjas of Sound. And why is Lee here? Did Tsunade send him? He looks fatigued.**_

She saw Lee attempt to land a kick on his opponent, only for it to be blocked by the bones. Not only was his kick blocked but the bones held his leg, not allowing him to move.

"Impressive speed, but it ends here," the sound ninja observed. He swung his bone-filled arm towards Lee.

Ame turned instantly to Gaara who only nodded before they both came forward, while Gaara's sand created a small explosion-like effect around the sound ninja's hand, sending Lee flying backwards, towards them, only to have his fall softened by a layer of sand.

"And you are?" the sound ninja asked, almost apathetically.

"Tsurugi Ame of Konoha," Ame identified herself as she helped a surprised Lee to his feet.

"Gaara of the Sand," Gaara, who was standing in front of Lee and Ame, replied flatly.

"Lee-kun, where is Naruto?" she asked impatiently.

"He went ahead, he was following Sasuke,"Lee answered. Ame nodded with a frown.

"Gaara…" she begun saying but the Sand ninja simply nodded, understanding what she wanted to tell him.

"I will handle this," he affirmed.

She moved fast, intending to pass by the Sound ninja, who seemed to be trying to estimate the new situation. As she did however, the Sound ninja, attacked by firing the bones from his finger tips at her.

"Don't think you can get past me that easily," he said, only to see his attack blocked by sand. He shifted his attention in time to dodge a sand tendril.

"I will be your opponent!" Gaara stated coldly.

_**That Gaara is scary. Scary…but very skilled.**_

_**Now…I should hurry. I have a very bad feeling about this.**_

Ame sped away from the clearing, letting the tracks lead her to an all too familiar location.

**oOo**

Soon enough she reached her destination. The Valley of the End. She spotted the two genins easily. They were facing each other. Naruto was standing on the water at the base of the waterfall and Sasuke was standing on the finger of Madara's statue.

Ame thought it was too ironic that Naruto and Sasuke were confronting each other in that place. She really hoped that the name wasn't predetermining the end of the friendship of those two. She knew she should intervene, but curiosity got the best of her.

She wanted to see what Naruto would say to Sasuke and how the young Uchiha would respond. The only one who could stop Sasuke at this point was Naruto, so she should let him try. After all, it had been made blatantly clear that both of them wanted to measure their abilities against each other.

So, as she deemed her intervention might be either unwelcomed and even be a hindrance to Naruto's attempt to persuade his team-mate to return to the village, she stepped stealthily to the clearing, keeping a safe distance from the two genins. However, what she heard next made her question her stance towards this situation even further.

"You are actually serious about this…damn it…"Naruto said looking at Sasuke.

"Yeah…I am serious. I intended to kill you," he solemnly responded.

_**What!**_

"…do you…no longer consider me as your friend…!? Everything we did together as team 7. Was it all just meaningless to you!!" Naruto yelled.

"…No…it was not meaningless…to me you have become…my closest friend…" Sasuke said with his eyes closed. Then he opened them, revealing his activated Sharingan.

Naruto was staring him in surprise, "Became your friend…then why?"

"That is why…that is why it is worth killing you. Sasuke's voice was almost devoid of feeling.

_**What exactly are you thinking Sasuke!**_

"I don't quite get it…but you seem serious about killing me, don't you Sasuke?" Naruto observed, completely serious.

"As I said before…You've been waiting and hoping for this as well. Now Kakashi and Sakura aren't here. There isn't anyone to stop us like last time," Sasuke replied.

The next moment, they charged at each other, meeting at the middle of the waterfall, using chakra to remain standing vertically. They exchanged some punches and kicks, most of which were countered or dodged. The young Uchiha, however, utilized an opening in his opponent's defense to take one kunai from Naruto's pouch.

"This time will be the end," he said as he threw the kunai to Naruto. Naruto wasn't too slow and managed to counter it with a shuriken. Unfortunately for him, the counter only served to make him lose sight of his opponent. Sasuke got the opportunity he wanted. He landed a good kick on Naruto's face, causing him to fall down, on the water.

Naruto got up, standing once more on the water a few feet from the base of the waterfall.

Sasuke was stepping on a rock, vertically to the waterfall, as the chidori started to form in his hand.

"I am taking you back, even if I have to beat you senseless!" Naruto yelled as he summoned a Shadow-clone, in order to use rasengan.

As soon as the orb of chakra was formed in his hand, the clone gave him a little boost to charge at Sasuke. Both opponents' attack's met. The collision of the two such powerful jutsus produced a high level energy burst. That sent the two genins flying backwards, causing waves of water and the brief appearance of mist, due to the evaporated water by the explosion.

As the water settled, Ame saw Sasuke emerge from inside the river and stand on its surface. Naruto surfaced as well, after a few seconds, but his lack of movement caused Ame to worry briefly, before she saw him get up as well.

"Did you know Naruto that first rate ninjas who know each other very well are able to read each other's hearts? Even if you don't say anything…" Sasuke said as the cursed seal started to cover his body.

"You are too naïve, Naruto…How is it? Have you read my thoughts? My real thoughts?" he asked before performing Katon: Housenka no jutsu with lightning speed, sending fireballs to his opponent.

Naruto jumped to avoid the fire but Sasuke was faster and managed to intercept him in mid-air, by landing a kick on his face. Naruto fell on the water. He didn't have time to even stand up before Sasuke's next attack came. This time he managed a powerful blow to Naruto's stomach, followed by a punch in the face, successfully neutralizing him.

So, before he had any time to react, Naruto found himself hanging a few centimeters above the surface of the water, from the collar of his jacket as Sasuke was gripping it tightly with his right hand.

Ame's eyes widened in horror as she saw the chidori come to life in Sasuke's hand once again.

_**This is bad!**_

She sprung from her hiding place and hurried toward the two teens, hoping to prevent a catastrophe. Sasuke brought his hand up and positioned it for the fatal strike. In one fluid movement Ame jumped in and grabbed Naruto, freeing him from Sasuke's grip. They landed a few feet away from the young Uchiha, who barely had enough time to register what had happened.

"Ame-san!" Naruto exclaimed.

She ignored him and stood before him, facing the young Uchiha. "You have gone far enough Sasuke!"

"Ame…I should have thought you might try to stop me."

"W-what?" another surprised exclamation escaped from Naruto's mouth. "Ame-san, please don't interfere," Naruto said, with an angry expression on his face. She just noticed that his eyes had turned red.

_**Is the Nine-tails acting up? I will have to stop it.**_

"I am not here to stop you from leaving. I am here to protect Naruto-kun…" she explained before forming, a few hand-seals, with speed that only the Sharingan user could follow and then touching Naruto's head. Instantly the teen's eyes closed and his body relaxed. "…whether he wants me to or not."

Ame grabbed the now unconscious form of Naruto and moved to place him on the nearest solid surface, the bank of the river. While doing so she didn't take her attention away from Sasuke.

"You must know that though you are a prodigy, I am more experienced than you and my taijutsu is far superior to yours. So I would suggest that you give up on the plan of killing Naruto, if that is what you really want to do, " She concluded as she turned to face the young Uchiha.

"However, the only thing I will accomplish by taking you back would be your imprisonment. If Naruto and Sakura couldn't dissuade you from your present course, then there is no hope you will come back of your own free will."

"First of all, I have a question that you might be able to answer Sasuke…"

She met his eyes before continuing, "How did Uchiha Shisui die?"

He looked at her with eyes wide from the surprise. He hadn't anticipated that kind of question. He had probably expected her to ask him about his attack on Naruto.

"Why? How do you know that name?" he questioned.

"Answer me! Was he killed?" she persisted in an austere tone of voice.

"…yes." Sasuke replied, soberly.

"Who killed him?"she asked but at the same moment she dreaded getting that answer.

"Itachi."

Ame closed her eyes, as if that answer caused her physical pain. Then she nodded, "I see…"

_**It is as I feared then…**_

_**I have to pull myself together for now; there will be time to dwell on that later. Now I have to make a last effort to persuade Sasuke to return of his own free will to the village. Though I don't anticipate to succeed were both Sakura and Naruto failed…I have to try. **_

With her resolved strengthened, she, once more, locked gazes with the young Uchiha.

"Do you know Sasuke that the Hokage ordered a five-man team to come after you? Two of them are in critical condition and they may die. Why do you think they tried so much? Why do you think Naruto tried so much?" she questioned.

He simply stared back at her coldly.

"They did it to save you…their comrade…their friend. You simply disregard their efforts and concern for you? You even try to kill your best friend? Do you really want to become your brother?"she asked, knowing she sounded quite harsh.

At that, she got a reaction. Sasuke's expression changed drastically. He looked like someone who had just been slapped without expecting it.

"Shut up! What do you know?"He growled. His eyes turned red as the Sharingan was activated, reacting to his anger.

Ame, seemingly unfazed, continued, "I know that Itachi was distant and unsociable. He was a brilliant ninja and everyone admired him. And then he killed his best friend and his clan. Do you see much difference? Sure you became cold after your family died, but you could have chosen not to. Also, you just admitted that you were trying to kill your best friend… Just how are you different from him?"

"Shut up!" he yelled as he attempted an attack against her, using taijutsu.

"Truth hurts eh Sasuke?"She remarked as she countered him with ease and pushed him back a bit, so that they were about a meter apart.

"Many of us have lost friends or family but we understand how self-destructing revenge is. Do you want to kill yourself Sasuke? Or even worse, do you really want to kill your soul?" she asked seriously, a deep frown had formed on her forehead.

"All this has nothing to do with you. I will do anything I can to gain more power in order to defeat him! He took everything from me!" he said with passion before taking a breath to compose himself. "I appreciate what you have done for me Ame, but I must walk my road alone. So, if you are going to stop me, do it. If not, I am leaving."

"I see that no matter what I say you won't change your mind…It is a pity you can't appreciate your friends. You will regret your path sooner or later and though it is probable that they will forgive you your actions…you won't forgive yourself Sasuke. It is unfortunate that you are so blinded by your pain that you can't see a future and you remain trapped in the past."

Ame could have sworn she saw Sasuke's mask break for a second and underneath it she saw profound sadness and pain… a lot of pain.

_**Sasuke…**_

"Think about this Sasuke…If you succeed in killing Itachi what then? Will you be able to continue living? No matter what he has done or how ruthless he is, Itachi is still your brother," she said, her eyes filled with sadness. "There is nothing that can change that. You are not him, you are not as distant as he is...How will you live, having killed your own brother?"

As she spoke, Ame noticed a mix of various emotions. Among them there was surprise, sadness, pain and most of all…hate. He didn't say anything in response, probably too preoccupied with his own feelings and thoughts that her words had evoked. He chose to take up the opportunity and silently disappear into the forest...

Ame let out a deep sigh, one that she had been holding in all day. At least she wasn't forced to fight Sasuke and Naruto was relatively unharmed. Though she was not pleased, she knew things could have gone a lot worse.

Ame approached the unconscious genin and gently, picked him up.

_**I am sorry, Naruto. I have no doubt I will be hated for this.**_

**oOo**

Briefly after her departure from the valley, she came across Kakashi, who had evidently been looking for Naruto and Sasuke.

"How is he?" he asked, changing his direction in order to follow her. His voice betrayed concern.

"A little battered and bruised but nothing serious."

"Sasuke?"

"He got away."

Just in time they met one of the medic ninjas. As he was about to ask Naruto's condition, Ame cut him off.

"He is fine. How are the other members of the team?"

"Hyuuga Neji and Akimichi Chouji are in critical condition. Inuzuka Kiba is wounded but nothing too serious and Nara Shikamaru has only a broken finger and a few scrapes and bruises," the medic hastened to explain. "Uchiha Sasuke?" he asked.

"He left." It was Kakashi who answered.

**oOoTBCoOo**

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	16. Interlude

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs.**

Many thanks to the people who read this story.

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Beta-read by **Manic 8-Ball**.

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**oOo**

" …After that you headed back, meeting Kakashi and a medic. Those two escorted you to the hospital where a brief examination attested that he suffered only from minor wounds that posed no threat to his life."

Tsunade finished reading Ame's report and placed the paper down on her desk before letting her gaze fall on said chuunin, standing in attention in front of her.

Ame was a bit uncomfortable, the reason was of course that she had "neglected" to include in her report, her brief exchange with Sasuke about Uchiha Shisui. She had reported in complete details the events, even her puny effort to dissuade Sasuke, but everything about her question concerning that had been left out.

Why? Because Tsunade knew that Itachi had been her instructor in the past and might begin to question some things if she noticed Ame's present interest. Either way, there was only a small chance that she would have noticed something like that, had Ame reported everything. Tsunade's most probable reaction would be to question her about it out of curiosity and Ame could have come up with a good justification.

In reality, Ame was unwilling to say anything about that because of a request she wanted to make of the Hokage. She didn't want to risk even in the slightest Tsunade to see her interest in Itachi because there would be a high chance that she would refuse her that request.

"As I said to Shikamaru, the mission was a failure but at least no one died. I may not be happy that you failed to bring Uchiha Sasuke back but at least Naruto was unharmed. Your intervention was very timely…I never would have thought that Sasuke would have tried to kill Naruto," Tsunade said.

"I do not know if he would have really gone through with it but I couldn't risk it," Ame explained.

"You did well. I even approve the fact that you knocked Naruto out. Who knows what would have happened had the Nine-tails been allowed to manifest. As for Uchiha Sasuke…you tried to dissuade him from abandoning Konoha but it has become clear it was his choice. I agree that there wasn't much you could do but I do not know what the council will think. I will remind them that your mission was to safeguard Naruto and I hope that they will accept that," Tsunade concluded.

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Ame said, a bit relieved that at least the Hokage had approved her actions.

"I take it that you haven't seen Naruto or Sakura the past two days?" Tsunade questioned.

"No. I have avoided contact with them. I would imagine that Naruto-kun is a bit angry with me and probably Sakura as well," Ame answered.

"It has been decided that he will leave the village with Jiraiya for a long period of time in order to train. According to Jiraiya he is determined to bring Sasuke back, especially now that we know that Orochimaru will need about 3 years before he can transfer to another body," Tsunade informed her.

Ame was pleased to hear that. "That is good, it means that Sasuke-kun is not totally lost to us but it also does not change much as long as he has such a strong desire for revenge."

"I also think that way but Naruto will not be persuaded to not go after his friend, eventually. It is his way of the ninja, as he says," Tsunade observed, while a smile appeared on her face.

Ame smiled as well. She was pleased to see that the Hokage was so fond of Naruto, almost like a mother. Then she quickly sobered up, remembering that she had not only come to give her report.

"Hokage-sama, I have something I wish to request of you…"

**oOo**

The next day, just before 10 o'clock in the morning, Ame was quietly sitting in one of the many training grounds around Konoha. With her back leaning on the trunk of a tree. Her hand kept playing with strands of grass, almost mechanically, as her eyes wandered to the vast, blue sky. It was a beautiful day. She was enjoying the sun and the gentle breeze while waiting for the two people she had summoned to appear. She hoped they would come.

A few minutes later two figures appeared, walking side by side, towards her. Sakura and Naruto. As the two genin approached her she could see that Naruto was looking at her a bit angrily, while Sakura seemed mostly sad.She noted that Naruto's injuries weren't visible anymore. In fact, there wasn't even a trace of them. As if they had never happened.

Ame didn't rise to greet them.

"Good morning, please have a seat," she said.

Both genin silently complied. They sat, almost side by side, on the green grass, facing her. Ame straightened her back, she wanted to be able to fully look at them.

"As I wrote in the note I sent you, there are some things we need to talk about. I know you are angry with me Naruto-kun, but I was under orders to protect you and I acted on them."

"It is your fault that Sasuke left! I could have stopped him! You should…" Naruto accused her.

"No!"Ame cut him off. "There were many reasons why I could not let you fight him. You tried to persuade him but you did not succeed. We all tried! Sasuke is bent on revenge…the recent reappearance of his brother canceled any steps he had made towards putting that tragedy behind him. Do not forget Naruto, he tried to kill you. He wanted to kill you."

At that, Sakura gasped, bringing her hands in front of her mouth. Her eyes were wide in surprise. Naruto's eyes focused to the ground.

"Even though you are his team mates, you know very few things about Sasuke," Ame continued. "Everything comes down to the Uchiha massacre. Sasuke's pain started that day. Though I do not know the whole story myself, I was old enough at the time to remember it clearly."

Both genin's eyes were fixed on her, eager to hear what she had to say.

"As you know, Sasuke returned that day from the academy to find his whole clan slaughtered. According to the reports, he never spoke of that to anyone but it was determined that he had come face to face with the assassin. That assassin was no one else than his own brother, Uchiha Itachi."

Sakura and Naruto were shocked. She could see it in their eyes.

"B-but…why?" it was Sakura that spoke.

"That is…debatable. The facts are that Itachi did not kill his brother and he fled the village immediately after the event. There is much speculation about his precise motives."

"He was insane…that-that bastard! Killing his family!" Naruto yelled, angry.

Ame kept her thoughts to herself on that subject. She was certain that Itachi was by no means crazy. There was a reason for what he had done. She knew better than anyone that he had felt contempt for his clan and he had resented his father for some things. That could have been a reason why he did what he did. Or simply he wanted power, which was why he joined Akatsuki.

"Whatever the reason," Ame continued "Sasuke lost his whole clan, all his family that day. His loved ones were killed by a person he himself loved. Can you imagine how he must have felt?"

Naruto shook his head negatively. Sakura was silently crying by now.

"Naruto-kun, there is no way for us to know if Sasuke would have actually killed you had he had the opportunity; it is very possible that he wouldn't. The reason I am telling you all this is because no matter what, Sasuke has acknowledged you to be his best friend. You are right to not want to give up on him." Ame smiled a bit sadly, pausing briefly.

"I heard from the Hokage that you will be leaving the village to train. She also told me that Sakura will soon begin her training as a medical ninja," that earned her a couple of positive nods and two hesitant smiles, "So, I wanted to tell you that…if you work hard there is yet hope for getting your comrade back."

At that, both genins smiled openly, happy that there was yet another person that supported them.

"Well, that is all, I have taken up enough of your time," Ame said as she got to her feet, briefly un-dusting herself, "I suppose I will see Sakura first when I return."

"What do you mean Ame san?" Sakura asked, confused.

"I will be leaving the village as well for a long period, but not as long as Naruto. I will be gone for a year, at the most," Ame explained.

"So that is why you wanted to let us know all that!" Sakura concluded.

"Is it a mission?" Naruto asked, a bit excited (for no apparent reason).

"Smart girl," Ame confirmed with an amused smile adorning her face, "and yes Naruto, you could say it is a mission. So, every one of us should work hard to achieve our goals."

"You are right Ame-san," Sakura agreed with a determined look on her face.

_**I will be looking forward to see you blossom Sakura, no doubt you will become a very dependable woman and ninja.**_

Naruto nodded in ascent, a radiant smile plastered on his face, his previous anger towards Ame, totally forgotten.

_**Oh well. That is just the way he is.**_

_**.**_

**oOoTBCoOo**

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	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything connected to it.**

**Beta: Missed Nin**

**A/N: **I am so sorry for not updating for so long but life and my muse got in the way. At last this chapter is ready and I really do that some people are still interested in reading it. Many thanks to the people who have supported this fic by reading and reviewing. If you still like this story and you want to see more of it please review and say so.

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**oOo**

Missing-nins were difficult to find, Ame knew, but until now, she hadn't realized exactly how hard it would be. Sitting on a rock near the border between the Lands of Earth and Grass, she took a rest from a mission to find two such people.

She had been confident that she could pick up on Kisame's and Itachi's trail relatively fast. Those expectations had arisen from her failure to take into account the amount of time that had passed since the last time they had been seen in the Land of Fire. So, she had been forced to set out on a relatively organized goose chase. She had some clues but not definite locations, thus forcing her to travel far and wide into both the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass.

So now, here she was, having spent the best part of three months investigating but having very few things to show for all her trouble.

Three months trying to find Itachi and that shark-like man, while wondering how the latter managed to go anywhere unnoticed. He wasn't exactly what you would call discreet.

Of course there was an answer to that and Ame knew well what it was…it was that Hoshigake Kisame was a ninja. Ninja abilities allowed any skilled ninja to disguise himself perfectly, enabling him to become almost anyone and go anywhere he or she wanted to go. In truth, if she hadn't had very specific and pressing reasons to find those two, Ame would have probably never set out to find two such dangerous people with so little information available on them and on their location.

The truth of the matter was that this whole situation was not what she had had in mind when she had petitioned the Hokage for a leave of absence from the village, on that day, 3 months ago, right after delivering her report to Tsunade.

_**oOo - 3 months ago - oOo**_

"_Hokage-sama, I have a request to make…"_

_Tsunade looked at Ame, slightly perplexed._

"_I need to leave the village for a while," Ame said._

_Tsunade looked at her, surprised, "Ame! You must be joking! There is no way for me to allow that. The elders are already displeased after the incident with Sasuke, they see it as your fault that he has left, and they will hold you accountable for it. They are definitely going to oppose you leaving the village."_

" _I understand all that, but it is a unique opportunity for me since Naruto is going to be away and under the care of Jiraiya-sama, making my presence unnecessary," Ame stated._

"_Unique opportunity to do what?" Tsunade questioned, her eyes were slightly narrowed._

"_To go back home."_

_Tsunade remained silent but her expression turned to a more sympathetic one._

_Ame continued talking, "It's been more than 7 years. I haven't been there since the night my family was killed. Now, finally, I feel ready to face that part of my past and perhaps, when I get those answers on what happened that night, I will be finally free from my nightmares."_

_Tsunade sighed almost inaudibly, "I understand how you feel…Very well; I will grant you permission to leave. I only hope that you will be very careful, the Land of Rain is one of the most perilous places, especially since we do not know what happens in it."_

"_Thank you Hokage-sama," Ame's face lit up from joy upon hearing Tsunade's decision._

"_Don't thank me yet, there is one other obstacle to overcome," Tsunade said meaningfully._

_Ame caught on, "The elders."_

_The older woman nodded. "I will talk to them. I just hope they will not give me too much of a headache," she spoke in a reassuring tone that made Ame confident that she would get what she wanted._

_A smile bloomed on Ame's lips, "Thank you Hokage –sama!"_

_**oOo - oOo - oOo**_

Ame and Tsunade had imagined that the elders would oppose that decision and that Tsunade would have had to use her power as the village's Kage to go around them, or give in and not let Ame leave. The later was not something she did often or that she wanted to do, because it would bring too much opposition and having bad relations with the elders might prove to be a political problem.

What neither woman had expected was what actually happened later on that same day.

_**oOo – 3months ago - oOo**_

_Early that afternoon, Ame received a summons from the elders; she returned to the Hokage building for the second time that day._

_Up on entering the room where she was expected, she noticed something unusual. There were three people in the room, all of them sitting facing the door. To see Elder Homura and Elder Koharu at once was nothing unusual, but there was another man present as well._

_He was of normal build. The first thing one would notice about him was the bandages wrapped around the right side of his face, concealing his right eye. His face was wrinkled but his age couldn't be determined exactly, Ame estimated it somewhere around 55-60. He had dark brown hair and his visible eye was also of brown color. Through careful observation it could be noted that his right hand was also missing._

_**Danzo.**_

_­Ame had only seen him once before but she had heard a lot about him. She had heard that he used to oppose the Third strongly in many matters, when the last was still alive. A voice pulled her from her thoughts._

"_So, you are Tsurugi Ame," oddly enough, Danzo was the first to speak and his words were more like a statement than an actual question._

_Ame nodded, feeling the need to reply, even if it wasn't necessary. She noticed that, despite his cold and stern appearance, there was something else in his eye, something that she couldn't decipher._

"_Tsurugi-san," it was Homura who spoke next, "We heard from the Fifth that you have requested and was granted permission to leave this village for a period of time. We have agreed to that." _

_At that moment, Ame was very glad for her training, because it was the only thing that kept her from gaping like a fish from surprise._

_Next, it was Koharu's turn to say her part, "Despite your recent failure to bring back Uchiha Sasuke, we do recognize your abilities as a ninja and are willing to overlook that one failure, provided that you will undertake and succeed in the mission we are about to assign to you."_

_**I knew there was a catch!**_

_Both elders got up from their seats, simultaneously._

"_Danzo, we will leave you two alone, in order to allow you to convey the details of her new mission," Homura said, earning a nod from the younger man. _

_As soon as the two elders stepped out, Danzo got up as well. He took a few steps towards the spot where Ame stood in attention. _

"_Tsurugi Ame, your mission is to locate Uchiha Itachi and make contact with him," Danzo informed her._

_Her eyes widened upon hearing that name. Whatever it was she expected to be assigned with, this definitely hadn't been it._

_Danzo continued, "You are to persuade him of your defection and try to infiltrate the Akatsuki."_

_**W-what is this? Are they in their right minds? Why do they give such a mission to me?**_

"_There is no time limit for this mission. You will be called back when we will think that you have gathered enough information pertaining to that organization. Also, should you succeed in becoming a member of Akatsuki, your reports will be handed in, in an irregular time pattern and way, as to avoid exposure. This is a mission approved by the Hokage and will remain strictly confidential. Is everything I told you understood?" Danzo asked upon completing his little speech._

"_Yes sir, but if I may ask, why did you choose me? Wouldn't a jonin be more adequate for such a mission?" she questioned, truly puzzled by the whole situation._

"_You are more adequate for this mission than any jonin we have because of your familiarity with Uchiha Itachi," he replied._

_Ame's eyes widened, as she was taken aback._

_**How did he know?**_

"_I know that you were, at one time, Itachi's pupil. He was your sensei and that makes you one of the few people who were close to him and are not currently deceased," he explained._

"_H-how?" Ame half-stuttered. She was totally taken by surprise by this turn of events._

"_I make it my business to know what is going on in my village. It is the only way I can protect it. I know everything about you, even the pieces of information that the Third tried to hide. I am aware of your true abilities, something that is an additional reason for sending you for this mission, your origins and how you came to Konoha, not to mention how you lived here and what you did. I also know about your father…"_

_At that point, Ame's eyes went wide in astonishment. That was something only the Third knew and she had fully intended not to share it with another person._

_**The bastard! He really does have spies everywhere. He must have gotten hold of that file at some point.**_

_­She forced herself to calm down and when she felt her heartbeat return to normal and was confident that her voice would sound normal, she spoke, "Does Tsunade-sama and the elders know about all this?"_

"_No. There was no need to disclose this information. I only told them what was necessary," Danzo said._

_Ame didn't need to ask the reason behind that. It wasn't kindness or willingness to protect her secret, he had only done it in order to have some thing to use on her should he need to._

"_Danzo-sama, the reasons you have chosen me for this are viable but you should be aware that this is a very difficult mission to accomplish, it is most likely that I will end up dead," she reasoned._

_He nodded in understanding, "I know full well the dangers of the mission but there shouldn't be more risks than the ones you face every time you are assigned to assassinate someone. You have many things to work in your favor. You were originally from another country, thus you can appear to never had particular bonds to Konoha and the Land of Fire. You have significant abilities and you have a prior connection to the elder Uchiha, to which you can work on any way you see fit. No matter the dangers, you have a chance to help Konoha and protect it. It is what Sarutobi would have wanted isn't it?"_

_**He really knows to manipulate others. He uses his knowledge of my close relationship to the Third to make me accept and dedicate myself to this mission. I have to admit he is very good.**_

"_Very well, I will do my best to complete my mission," Ame said with a slight bow._

"_Excellent," Danzo remarked, in a completely dispassionate tone of voice. He reached into his robes and he pulled a small, thin scroll, which he handed to her._

"_This contains some basic information about the Akatsuki and some possible locations where you might be able to find Uchiha Itachi and his companion," he added._

_Ame received the scroll with a nod of her head and turned to leave the room._

"_Oh, Tsurugi-san, please do not forget that whatever your past relationship with the Uchiha, he is a missing-nin, a criminal and a traitor," Danzo's words stopped her as she had reached the door._

"_I am aware Danzo-sama," she said, unable to fully conceal her annoyance at his dubious remark._

"_Good."_

_**­oOo - oOo - oOo**_

Even Danzo's scroll with the presumed locations wasn't particularly helpful. They mostly served as a starting point for her search but produced no concrete results. That scroll also contained some vague information about the Akatsuki as a whole; none of which was solid fact .That made it painfully obvious that Konoha knew almost nothing about their new nemesis and Ame understood why she was sent on such a mission. Under different circumstances, she might have thought that the elders were trying to get her killed for failing her mission with Sasuke, but she recognized the true necessity behind this one and so, she had decided to clench her fists and try to accomplish the task given to her.

In the past two months she has established some contacts in different places as she investigated possible locations. She had also made it quite known that she was looking for the Akatsuki, knowing it was a gamble because it could make them more aware and cautious, but on the other hand it could make them look for her, so it was a risk she was willing to take.

She reached for her backpack and pulled a map, with many crossed out locations and many notes. There was a particular location encircled in bright red that gained her attention. She had received some information concerning an abandoned inn, deep in the forest, at the edges of a mountain, which was located only a few hours from her current location. The information was not particularly solid but it was worth investigating, given the proximity to her present location, not to mention she was finally reaching the end of her rope.

Ame put the map back and after sipping some water from her flask and checking all her equipment, she grabbed her backpack and started walking towards the place noted in the map.

**oOo**

It took her the best part of the morning to reach the ruined inn. It was located near the foot of the mountain and while once it might have been a nice resort, the only customers it had now were animals and insects. People, even those wanting to hide, would be foolish and reckless to take one step inside. Most of the walls had collapsed a long time ago and the few of them that still remained were definitely rotten and could fall down at any minute.

_**This is such a waste of time. There is no way they are here. I do not need to go inside; this place may come down even with a gust of wind. It is a deathtrap.**_

"Well, well, well! What have we here?" a voice came out of nowhere, surprising Ame.

­She sprung around and through a couple of shurikens, in the direction of the voice. Her eyes widened as she saw who it was: Hoshigaki Kisame.

Naturally, her puny attack didn't find its target, as her weapons met with his disguised blade and were embedded in the bandage that enveloped the massive sword.

"It's just a girl, but she seems to have spunk. I take it that you were the one who has been looking for us?" Kisame asked, seeming amused.

"Kisame," a serious voice, which Ame knew so well, came from behind the shark-like man, as Itachi's smaller figure came into view.

_**I couldn't sense them at all this time. Where were they hiding? They seem to have been expecting me.**_

"Hm…doesn't she look somewhat familiar Itachi-san?" Kisame mused, looking at his partner.

"Ame, what are you doing looking for us?" Itachi asked calmly.

"I wanted to talk to you," Ame said, trying to appear as calm and composed as possible.

"Go back and don't come looking for us again. Next time we will be less inclined to let you walk away," Itachi's eyes were cold as ice as he spoke.

He was irritated to see that the person who had caused them a mild discomfort because she was trying to find them, was not a reckless member of a hunter team or something like that, which was something they usually expected, but it was she. He wanted to end this meeting as soon as possible and let her leave that place alive, if he could.

"No," Ame replied.

"Why?"

"Things happened…I have left the village," Ame was happy to notice a slight surprise in both of their faces, "That is why I was looking for you; I want to join the Akatsuki."

"He! He! He!" Kisame's crude laughter reached their ears, "Now I remember you! You are the one who was with the nine-tails brat that time. I didn't know you were so funny."

"Oh, but I am serious about this. Do you think that I would have gone to the trouble of finding you just for sport?" Ame questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter. You are not fit to join the organization," Itachi intervened.

"Do you take me for a fool? You really think I would have come all the way here if I didn't have an ace up my sleeve? I haven't let the past 7 years go to waste, I have trained very hard to become stronger," Ame insisted, knowing that it would take a lot more persuading than that, in order to even begin considering her bold request.

"No matter how much you trained, you could have never reached high enough. You have many flaws that prevent you from becoming a proper shinobi," Itachi refuted.

Ame for a moment forgot where she was and why and simply blurted out what she was thinking, "You should know better Itachi than to doubt what a stubborn person can do. After all, do not delude yourself to believe that you know everything about me."

Kisame had sat back and was smirking while enjoying the sow that had started to remind him or a lover's squabble. It had been a long time since he had seen Itachi, even slightly ticked. His grin widened as an idea came to him. He stepped forward, gaining Ame's attention, "Why don't you prove it?"

Ame looked at him questioningly but she had a feeling she knew where this was going.

Seeing her expression and ignoring the death glare that Itachi was sending him, Kisame continued, "Let us have a spar between you and Itachi, if you manage to face him and keep up with him for at least 5 minutes, then we will consider taking you to see the Leader."

The shark-like man couldn't contain a feral grin as he completed his proposal. The determined look on the girl's face told him that she would most likely accept, Itachi on the other hand might have need of a little persuading. Kisame wanted to see what would happen in a fight between them, he thought of it as his entertainment for the evening, even if he wasn't the one doing the fighting. He was also aware that Itachi could get angry and that could prove problematic in the long run, but that was a chance he was willing to take.

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**oOo TBC oOo

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